"In recent years, Pennsylvania regulators have tried to clamp down on roadway spreading of tens of millions of gallons of oil and gas “brines,” high-salt liquids that can be laced with toxic metals and radioactive material. The industry is pushing back."
"In rural Western Pennsylvania, communities routinely spray briny fluids on unpaved backroads to control dust in the warmer months and ice in the winter. Often, those liquids are drilling byproducts from nearby conventional oil and gas wells.
That mostly comes courtesy of a loophole in state law that opponents say poses a risk to human and environmental health, and that they fear may soon become larger.
A potentially landmark legal case on the practice is currently before the state Environmental Hearing Board, a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals to state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations. The matter follows a previous case before the board that prompted the DEP in 2018 to impose a moratorium on formal approvals for such “roadspreading” using wastes from oil and gas wells.
But that left open the door for companies to try a second route, by instead claiming the liquids are a “coproduct.” Under that process, they test their fluids, which can contain toxic metals and radioactive materials, to ostensibly ensure they are comparable to existing commercial products. When the DEP called the coproduct testing of a northwest Pennsylvania company “invalid” this year, the firm appealed to the board."
Kyle Bagenstose reports for Inside Climate News October 1, 2025.
Advertisement 
