American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014 - 21

IndustryDigest
OOGA Director of Public Relations
Mike Chadsey notes.
"This is the third time in 12 months a
group called FracFree Mahoning has
tried to get this measure passed,"
Chadsey reports, since it failed during
the 2013 primary and general elections.
"Its 'community bill of rights' is a ban
on drilling in Youngstown, which we (at
OOGA) believe to be pre-empted by
state law."
According to Chadsey, the
Youngstown Chamber of Commerce,
through its Mahoning Valley Coalition
for Job Growth and Investment,

opposed the reforendum with an
aggressive campaign that was supported
by local state representatives and the
Youngstown mayor.
"The people of Youngstown support
the oil and gas industry, and the jobs
and investment it is bringing to their
town," Chadsey states.
According to published reports,
FracFree Mahoning has said it will
continue to push the amendment until
the fracturing ban passes. Conversely,
Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber
of Commerce President Tom Humphries
has asked the group to "respect the will

of the voters, and not make yet another
attempt that wastes tax dollars that
could be wisely used elsewhere." ❒

to transport materials that may or may
not contain NORM to licensed landfills
in Colorado, Texas, Idaho, and other
states. These materials must be hauled
long distances because North Dakota
does not have NORM-specific
regulations permitting in-state disposal.
It is for this reason that industry is
working with state regulators to put the
proper regulations, infrastructure, and
facilities in place to safely and
responsibly dispose of NORM
associated with the oil and gas industry.
Under North Dakota regulations,
material or equipment measuring below
five pCi/gm may be disposed of without
restriction. The regulated-radioactivity
threshold is specific to two radium
isotopes.
Putting this in perspective, the
granite countertop in your home likely
cannot be disposed of in a North Dakota
landfill under current rules. The
countertop has a low level of
radioactivity, as does common cat litter.
Bananas, coffee grounds, Brazil nuts,
and other foods contain similar levels of
radioactivity, although not necessarily
associated with the radium isotopes.
Some phosphate-containing fertilizers-a
staple of North Dakota's agricultural
industry-contain NORM activity 5-30
times higher than North Dakota's oil
field waste disposal regulations allow.
North Dakota needs rules that enable
responsible disposal procedures that
ensure public health, but we need to
keep this in proper perspective. NORM
is not nuclear waste. It is not the highly
dangerous material reported in
exaggerated headlines and other public
statements. NORM is present all around

us in our everyday lives.
NORM is typically several orders of
magnitude less radioactive than nuclear
waste. Words such as "radiation" and
"NORM" should not evoke the
emotional reaction sought by some.
Instead, we must understand the science
to understand the potential impacts.
Improper handling and potential
illegal dumping of NORM is
condemned strongly by responsible
industry and state regulators, and it
underscores the need for licensed
disposal sites within our state.
Responsible parties agree that having
in-state sites to handle the waste
generated in North Dakota would
discourage the improper handling and
illegal dumping that occasionally occur.
Making sure we have sites available
will take thorough research to ensure
we have the proper regulations,
permitting and protocols in place,
giving special consideration to North
Dakota's unique geology, landscape,
and hydrology. The North Dakota
Petroleum Council, North Dakota
Department of Health, North Dakota
Industrial Commission's Oil and Gas
Research Council, and the University of
North Dakota's Energy &
Environmental Research Center are
working collectively toward this end. In
working together, we can ensure that we
continue to develop our energy
resources safely and responsibly.

OIPA Voices Support For
U.S.Crude Oil Exports
OKLAHOMA CITY-The Oklahoma
Independent Petroleum Association
confirms its Board of Directors has
voted to support efforts to overturn the
federal government's ban on crude oil
exports. Because of the the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act of 1975,

LETTERS
Dear Editor:
Radioactive waste . . . NORM waste
. . . "hot" filter socks . . . illegal
dumping.
Many attention-grabbing headlines
have been written in the past year. What
is it all about? What do these headlines
really mean to the public and the North
Dakota landscape in which we take such
pride?
These are reasonable questions that
demand solid answers. Unfortunately,
the science behind the issues does not
translate easily to a quick news story. It
is time to put science before emotion to
counter some of the misconceptions and
even exaggerations about what NORM
is, how it is disposed of, and why
industry and state regulators are
working together to ensure the safe and
responsible disposal of these materials.
NORM stands for naturally
occurring radioactive material that has
radioactivity in excess of five picocuries
per gram (pCi/gm) of bulk material.
Radioactivity exists in all natural
materials, including soils, rocks, water,
and even air. It is present in food,
building materials, electronics, and even
that wristwatch you wear. And yes,
NORM is present in the Bakken Shale.
It is brought to the surface in drill
cuttings and water that naturally exists
in some geologic formations.
Although a small number of
irresponsible business owners have put
this issue in the public spotlight, the
vast majority of industry has been
handling NORM properly since the
early 1980s, when the issue first arose
in oil and gas exploration.
Bakken producers spend large sums

Jay Almlie
Senior Research Manager
Energy & Environmental Research
Center
Grand Forks, N.D
JUNE 2014 21
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014

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