Opinion ID: 705105
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: produced sand

Text: 83 Produced sand is made up of particles of sand and slurried particles that rise to the surface with the oil, gas, and produced water generated during production. Produced sand settles at the bottom of treatment vessels until it is discharged from time to time when the vessels are cleaned. Produced sand is generally contaminated with crude oil from oil production or with condensate from gas. The primary contaminant associated with produced sand is oil, which can range from a trace to as much as 15 percent by volume. Under this rule, EPA prohibits any discharge of produced sand. The BAT, NSPS, and BCT zero discharge standards for produced sand require barging the discharge to shore to deposit in landfills. 84 Produced sand represents a relatively minor waste stream in offshore oil and gas production. In promulgating the produced sand portion of the rule, EPA considered two options: zero discharge by barging, and no free oil that is achieved by washing sand so that no visible sheen or discoloration is discernible. The Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) indicated that sand removal is primarily achieved by tank cleanouts, which occur every three to five years, although some locations remove sand annually due to factors specific to those wells. Generally, EPA estimated that one barrel of produced sand is generated for every 2,000 barrels of product. On the basis of an OOC survey, EPA also determined that 80 percent of dischargers are already hauling produced sand to shore for disposal. 85 EPA's decision to require zero discharge of produced sand resulted from its determination that zero discharge is technically and economically feasible. Compared to the other options considered, therefore, EPA determined zero discharge to be the best available technology. According to EPA, the CWA not only gives the agency broad discretion in determining BAT, the Act merely requires the agency to consider whether the cost of the technology is reasonable. EPA is correct that the CWA does not require a precise calculation of BAT costs. NRDC v. EPA, 863 F.2d at 1426. As for BCT, EPA maintains that zero discharge passes the BCT cost test, which is all that is statutorily required. 86 The Industry petitioners, including Svedala, Inc., contend that EPA's zero discharge limitation for produced sand violates the CWA and the APA. The petitioners' major contentions are that EPA failed to consider other technologies (namely, the effectiveness of technologies for washing sand), and also failed to address adequately the objections of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and Department of Energy (DOE). EPA denies both contentions of Industry petitioners.
87 EPA argues that Svedala does not have standing to file a petition for review in this case. Svedala's only interest in the EPA regulations is as a manufacturer of a sand-washing technique. As EPA contends, therefore, Svedala lacks standing because its interest does not fall within the zone of interests that Congress sought to protect in enacting the CWA. Clarke v. Securities Industry Ass'n, 479 U.S. 388, 399, 107 S.Ct. 750, 757, 93 L.Ed.2d 757 (1987). We agree that Svedala does not have standing to be a petitioner in this case. However, because this issue is fully briefed by the parties, including Industry petitioners who clearly do have standing in this case, we will address its merits.
88 Petitioners contend that EPA ignored the requisite BAT factors, such as cost and nonwater quality environmental impacts. For example, Industry petitioners criticize EPA's decision not to attribute any transportation cost to the process of hauling produced sand to shore. As EPA counters, however, the amount of produced sand is so minimal and irregular that existing barges that transport barrels of product or that service the offshore platforms are capable of carrying the produced sand to shore. 89 Industry petitioners also criticize EPA's failure to factor in the higher cost of disposing of produced sand that contains radionuclides (NORM). Industry petitioners are wrong. EPA did address this possibility and in its cost estimate provided for disposal of that produced sand containing NORM. Furthermore, EPA's Development Document points out that sand washing reduces only oil content, leaving radionuclides in the sand. Therefore, even washed sand that still contains NORM must be transported to shore for disposal under existing Minerals Management Service (MMS) guidelines. 90 Industry petitioners also argue that EPA had inadequate information to formulate technology standards for produced sand. This argument fails, however, because EPA relied on scientific data from several sources. Although EPA acknowledges that one set of data, the OOC survey, was not complete without several years of data (which was not available at the time of rulemaking), EPA has broad discretion in its selection of data and in its method of calculation. Reynolds Metals Co. v. EPA, 760 F.2d 549, 565 (4th Cir.1985) (citing Hercules, Inc. v. EPA, 598 F.2d 91, 108 (D.C.Cir.1978)); American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, 540 F.2d 1023, 1035-36 (10th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 922, 97 S.Ct. 1340, 51 L.Ed.2d 601 (1977). An agency's discretion is especially broad when it involves highly scientific or technical considerations. Reynolds Metals Co., 760 F.2d at 565. The cost-and-energy-related issues raised by Svedala and the Industry petitioners are within the discretion of EPA. 91 Industry petitioners argue further that sand-washing technologies are capable of removing 100 percent of the oil in produced sand. According to these petitioners, if all of the oil is not removed the first time, the produced sand can be washed again to remove the remaining pollutant. The data collected by the EPA, however, shows that sand-washing technologies are not so reliable. In fact, some sands containing heavy oils cannot be washed thoroughly enough to meet the much less stringent no free oil standard previously in place. 22 92 Industry petitioners also claim that EPA failed adequately to address the comments of other departments on the topic of zero discharge of produced sand. As EPA points out, however, the comments from MMS and DOE came only two days before the Final Rule was to be signed. Furthermore, EPA left the door open to continue to accept comments on produced sand in the future with the possibility of revising the zero discharge rule later.