There should be little difficulty understanding the pollutant effluent limits in the EPA’s final pretreatment standards for onshore unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction facilities because the limits are zero. The pertinent addition to the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows:
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“There shall be no discharge of wastewater pollutants associated with production, field exploration, drilling, well completion, or well treatment for unconventional oil and gas extraction (including, but not limited to, drilling muds, drill cuttings, produced sand, produced water) into publicly owned treatment works [POTWs].”
The requirement applies to both existing and new sources.