Dive summary:
- The shale gas drilling industry is asking to use the nation’s rivers and lakes, which are regulated by the U.S. coast guard, to move wastewater.
- Representatives say that moving the wastewater by ship produces minimal risks and that compared to other industries, such as the oil industry which currently uses the waterways, their wastewater produces very little environmental risk.
- There is concern still from the other side on what would happen in case of a leak or spill; the campaign coordinator for Clean Water Action called the consequences of a spill a “massive catastrophe,” affecting the drinking water of half a million people.
From the article:
The Coast Guard's decision would affect more than Pittsburgh's iconic three rivers. Nearly 12,000 miles of waterways could be open to these waterborne behemoths, each carrying 10,000 barrels of wastewater.
Like so many questions involving the shale gas industry, it's a divisive one. Environmentalists said the possibility of a spill that could contaminate Pittsburgh's rivers with chemicals isn't worth the risk. But industry officials who advocate waterway transport said barges are the safest, and cheapest, way to move this stuff. ...
