EPA Eyeing E&P Industry for Expansion of Toxic Release Inventory Program

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to expand the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program to the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) industry are being met with strong opposition from industry groups, including the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) and the Groundwater Protection Council.

The TRI program requires industries to report releases of over 600 toxic chemicals to the air, water and land, even though most of these reported releases are permitted under applicable discharge regulations. This information is then provided to the public. Currently, only manufacturing facilities are subject to the reporting requirements of TRI, however, EPA is reviewing whether to expand the TRI program to include additional industries, including the oil and gas E&P industry.

According to the American Petroleum Institute (API) if oil and gas facilities are include in the TRI program, producers would be required to report reinjection of produced water as a "release to the environment." API estimates that thousands of production sites would be subject to the reporting requirements, costing the industry and estimated $200 million in the first year alone.

IOGCC passed a resolution at its 60th annual meeting in December urging EPA to cease efforts to expand the TRI program to the oil and gas E&P industry. According to the IOGCC resolution, expansion of the TRI program "would create a costly new reporting burden that would result in little, if any environmental benefit."

The Ground Water Protection Council, an organization dedicated to the prevention of groundwater contamination, is also referenced in the resolution as concluding that the proposed expansion of the TRI program to include the injection of produced water does nothing to improve the environment.

For more information on this issue, contact Amy Carman at (512) 477-4452.

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