Production waters associated with the production, processing, transmission, and storage of natural gas: a literature survey. Topical report, July 1985-March 1987

This report presents a review of the available public literature on the sources, characteristics, and management of production waters from natural gas industry operations. Gas exploration, production, processing, transmission, and storage operations generate production waters that must be discharged or disposed in accordance with applicable environmental regulations. Disposal practices and regulations are coming under increased scrutiny by EPA for all industry, and regulatory changes are anticipated in the foreseeable future. Natural gas industry operations will be affected to some degree by potential changes in regulations governing management of production waters under RCRA, the UIC program of the SDWA, and biomonitoring requirements for NPDES discharges under the CWA. The availability of data on production-water composition, biomonitoring, treatment, and disposal practices varies widely in the public literature. While chemical composition data are available for drilling fluids and produced waters, comprehensive detailed chemical analyses generally are not. Biomonitoring data are available only for drilling fluids, with few exceptions.