Shale water and waste: treating the flowback is mandatory

Neuquén regulates the water cycle and the waste of unconventional activity with three chained rules. (1) Decree 1483/12 (Annex XVI, regulating environmental Law 1875) requires treating the return water (flowback) IN ITS entirety before reusing or disposing of it in a sink well (Art. 10), prohibits discharging it -even treated- into surface water bodies under any condition (Art. 11), prohibits using groundwater fit for consumption or irrigation in drilling (Art. 9, requires using surface or saline water), requires a prior Environmental License for every project (Art. 3) and waterproofed pits (Art. 13); moreover, every flowback-treatment methodology must be approved by the Environmental Authority before being applied. (2) Decree 2263/15 classifies as special waste the flowback (Y9), the drilling cuttings (Y13/Y14), the frac sand (Y10) and the muds (Y20), with certified treatment and final disposal; it requires locating the treatment/disposal plants 8 km or more from urban areas (Art. 39) and registering the providers in the REPPSA (Art. 40). (3) Provision SSA 585/22 closes the circuit: its Art. 1 establishes that 'every reuse and disposal alternative for the output of treating Special Waste identified as Y8 (water with hydrocarbons) and Y9 (return/flowback water) must be authorized by the Competent Authority', and its Art. 2 that this authorization is requested by THE generator of the waste and is issued 'upon prior accreditation of compliance with the parameters established in the Applicable Rules for the intended use' — that is, case-by-case authorization, with the burden of proof on the generator and tied to the intended USE (not a generic clearance of the technology). Its recitals also set the three only legal exits for flowback, all after treatment that guarantees fitting the discharge parameters of Law 899 and its Decree 790/99 (and supplementarily national Law 24051 and Decree 831/93): 'a) Reuse in the hydrocarbons industry; b) Reuse in irrigation tied to a productive project or to environmental recomposition of the affected area, with the Approval of the Enforcement Authority of Laws 899 and 1875; c) Final disposal in a sink well'. verif · 2012-2022 ↗

Decree 1483/12 in force since 2012 (90 days after its publication); Decree 2263/15 since November 2015; Provision SSA 585/22 since May 2022. verif · Aug 17, 2012 ↗

Shale/tight operators and concessionaires (who must comply with treatment and traceability) and, above all, the providers of water treatment, flowback management, cuttings disposal and environmental services: to operate they must register in the REPPSA, locate plants 8 km or more from urban areas and obtain prior approval of their technology by the Environmental Undersecretariat. The rule generates forced and recurring regulatory demand, but with concrete authorization barriers. prob · 2015-2026 ↗