Wastewater Request Approved

Government has authorized a request from Atlantic Industrial Services to dispose of another five million litres of treated hydraulic fracturing wastewater.

The water will be used as a coolant in a kiln at the Lafarge cement plant in Brookfield and evaporated at 700 C.

Like the pilot project approved last April, the wastewater will be treated for naturally occurring radioactive materials and put through reverse-osmosis. The treated wastewater meets Canadian Council of Environment Ministers and Health Canada guidelines for release into fresh water.

Environment Minister Randy Delorey is pleased the pilot showed evaporation is a viable disposal solution for the province's existing hydraulic fracturing wastewater.

Atlantic Industrial Services will begin transporting the water, moving three to five truckloads of water per day, from the Debert holding ponds to the Lafarge cement plant this week. About 167 truckloads of water will be needed to complete the transfer.

There are 10 million litres of wastewater remaining in two ponds at the Atlantic Industrial Services site. Triangle Petroleum has 20 million litres of wastewater remaining in two holdings ponds in Kennetcook, Hants Co.

The wastewater in both areas is from high-pressure hydraulic fracturing that took place in 2007 and 2008.

Results from the pilot are available at http://www.novascotia.ca/nse/pollutionprevention/pubs.asp .