An article in the Akron Beacon Journal discusses a study by Kent State University regarding the disposal of flow back water from natural gas fracking in deep wells in Ohio. Flow back water is the water that comes back up from fracking a natural gas well. The flow back water is considered wastewater.
A prior
On April 17th, EPA issued new rules designed to reduce air emissions from oil & gas operations, including wells drilling using hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"). The new federal standards (New Source Performance Standards -NSPS) are seen as the first significant new federal regulation governing fracking.
Some may wonder how gas wells generate air emissions. When
Hydraulic fracking provides the opportunity to tap into massive natural gas reserves which is located deep beneath the earth. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, Marcellus and Utica Shale is sedimentary rock which contains huge quantities of natural gas.
Hydraulic fracking uses water injected at high pressure to break up the rock allowing the gas to be released into wells. The process uses