Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A change in the rules for landfills accepting fracking fluid sludges could mean higher prices for disposal, and more oil and gas waste going out of state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, concerned that concentrated frack fluid waste wasn’t being adequately diluted at state landfills over the past several years, instituted a new policy starting Jan. 1.

Annual limits for accepting radioactive waste from oil and gas operations were changed to monthly caps to ensure that such waste was properly mixed with non-radioactive waste at a ratio of 1:50.

The DEP told landfills that, after reviewing disposal patterns, it found spikes during certain times of year, which undermined its dilution strategy for such waste.

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