Michael Sauers
March 20, 2025
Since Trump’s second inauguration he and his subordinates have thrown enormous amounts of mud at the wall. He is always testing the limits of his actions. Continuously he attempts to discredit the Congress, Courts and Media. Primary threats keep a thumb on elected representatives, most news is called out as fake and the judiciary is run by left wing lunatics. Doge is running rampant throughout the federal government with federal employee layoffs, programs being cancelled and entire Agencies on the chopping block. Pardons for convicted criminal abound.
Today, Inside Climate News reported the Trump administration wants to give the oil and gas industries increased “regulatory flexibility” regarding the disposal of enormous quantities of toxic wastewater. As has been previously reported by this webpage, “fracking” produces staggering amounts of what the industry calls produced water. This is the water that comes to the surface when fracking is occurring. It is toxic and carcinogenic as it contains proprietary (secret) drilling fluids and naturally occurring hazardous substances found in underground water. Compounds like arsenic, boron, chloride, benzene and radioactive elements rear their ugly heads on the surface.
Fracking produces massive quantities of produced water that the industry needs to deal with. It is expensive so, naturally, these industries look to government (taxpayers) for help. Currently, they are allowed by state governments to dispose of it in totally moronic ways. They can pump it into the ground for future generations to deal with. They can minimally clean it and pump it into surface waters. They can spread it on roads for dust control and winter maintenance. They can attempt to reuse/recycle it where it becomes even more toxic. Yikes!!!! This is the oil and gas industries’ version of the “keystone cops”.
Now, the EPA is on their team. Trump and Lee Zeldon are looking for ways to minimally “clean” the produced water and release it into streams and rivers, apply it to agricultural lands, irrigate rangelands, use it in industrial applications like artificial intelligence and data center cooling and extracting critical minerals. All pie in the sky paid for by taxpayers. Texas, go figure, is already releasing it into waterways. Soon they will be drinking it.
Most states’ regulations (including Pennsylvania) need to be strengthened. Trump is working to roll back multiple public health rules. Relaxing protection to allow cheap disposal of produced water has alarmed experts both in and out of government. Beneficial use will be in vogue again. Keep in mind that fracking chemicals have been exempted from federal regulations since 2005. The Halliburton loophole (Dick Cheney) is still in effect. Cheerleaders for the industry are already doing cartwheels and practicing cheers. Multiple gimmicks, rule rollbacks and changes, exemptions, etc. will be thrown at the wall. PROFITS are the only thing that matters!
Wait a minute, wait a minute. Fortunately, Pennsylvania has stricter regulations than the federal government. The federal government regulations cannot supersede Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law or change Pennsylvanians’ constitutional right to ” clean air and pure water”.
I am not sure where Mr. Shapiro stands on this. Time will tell.
Stay tuned!