North Dakota could soon allow some radioactive oilfield waste to be buried in landfills within the state. Emily Guerin reports from one of three public hearings on the proposed rule changes.
GUERIN: Radioactive waste is one of many unwanted byproducts of the oil industry. Radium occurs naturally underground in North Dakota, but gets brought up to the surface in water used for fracking. It accumulates in tanks, pipes and water filters called filter socks.
Currently, radioactive oilfield waste cannot be disposed of in North Dakota, so it gets trucked out of state at considerable cost to oil companies. The ban may also have contributed to illegal dumping of filter socks.
Now, the North Dakota Department of Health wants to allow waste with higher concentrations of radium to be buried in state. Environmental Health Division Chief Dave Glatt explains.
DAVE GLATT: We felt that we needed to take a look at how much is being generated, tracking it. And then Is our standard appropriate when now we are becoming a big producer of this waste. And is it appropriate to ship it out of state to dispose in Colorado, or should we take some responsibility on our own.
GUERIN: The Department of Health held a hearing last night in Bismarck on the proposed rules, and it was dominated by people who do NOT want radioactive waste in North Dakota landfills. Theodora Bird Bear of Mandaree was one of many speakers who said she did not trust the Department of Health to enforce the new rules.
THEODORA BIRD BEAR: The regulatory agencies has demonstrated repeatedly that it’s been unable to regulate the industry.
GUERIN: Bird Bear was one of many members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes who testified at the meeting. Other Native Americans traveled from the Standing Rock Reservation and the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota, including Winona LaDuke, a well-known tribal and environmental activist.
WINONA LA DUKE: You guys don’t have any street cred on regulations. Let’s be honest, North Dakota. You got spills all over the state. You got spills coming down the Missouri River. Good luck, right?
GUERIN: The North Dakota Petroleum Council isn’t a big fan of the rules, either. Vice President Kari Cutting said under the proposed rules, it’s going to be hard for companies to accurately measure radioactivity in the field.
KARI CUTTING: The ability to segregate material that we know will meet the regulation before it’s sent to a landfill is critically important.
GUERIN: Currently, members of the public have until February 6th to comment on the proposed rules, although Dave Glatt (glott) of the Dept of Health said he may push that back. There is another meeting tonight in Fargo and more information about the rules online at www.ndhealth.gov.
