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10 Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering

activated carbon. In some cases, however, the contaminated material
may need to be completely removed for off site treatment and disposal.

1.1.8 Environmental Regulations

One of the most significant changes occurring in the operations of
the upstream petroleum industry during the 1980s has been the need
to minimize environmental impact. This change has been driven by
an increase in the number of regulations governing drilling and
production activities. Most of these regulations impose economic fines
and possibly criminal penalties for violations. These regulations have
significantly increased the cost of industry operations.

Major United States Environmental Regulations and Costs

A number of major environmental regulations affect the operation
of petroleum exploration and production activities in the United States
(Gilliland, 1993; Interstate Oil Compact Commission, 1990). Some of
these regulations are briefly reviewed below; a more extensive discus-
sion of the regulations is included in Appendix A.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Subtitle C,
regulates the storage, transport, treatment, and disposal of hazardous mate-
rials that are intended to be discarded, i.e., wastes. This regulation defines
hazardous wastes as those that are specifically listed by name or those
that are either highly reactive, corrosive, flammable, or toxic. Most, but
not all, upstream petroleum industry wastes are exempt from this regulation.
The Safe Drinking Water Act was passed to protect underground
sources of drinking water (USDW). This act regulates activities that
may contaminate USDWs, particularly injection wells for both oil
recovery and water disposal, as well as the plugging of abandoned
wells. This act requires regular mechanical integrity testing of all
injection wells.
The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of wastes, particularly
oil, into surface waters or drainage features that may lead to surface
waters. This act requires many operators to prepare spill prevention
control and countermeasure (SPCC) plans to help minimize the impact
of any spills.
The Clean Air Act regulates the emissions of air pollutants, includ-
ing exhaust from internal combustion engines, fugitive emissions, and