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VERNAL -- Uintah County may be in hot water with local and state environmental officials over its method of clearing frozen culverts with, well, hot water.
That's because the high-temperature water used by the county's road crews to de-ice culverts is the minimally-treated byproduct of oil and natural gas drilling, which means it can contain drilling fluid, hydrocarbons and other unknown contaminants.
"It's an obvious violation," said Darrin Brown, director of environmental health for the TriCounty Health Department.
The county's practice -- which may have been in place for as many as 30 years -- was brought to the health department's attention on Jan. 10 by a homeowner near 500 West and 1500 North. The man provided Brown with video he captured of a road department employee who had just unloaded produced water into a roadside ditch.
The video, obtained by the Uintah Basin Standard through a public records request, shows the homeowner climbing into the ditch and scooping out a jar full of steaming, cloudy water. It also clearly shows the door of the truck with the words "Uintah County" emblazoned on the side.
"The estimated 1,000 gallons of production water deposited into the ditch had a foul odor, which was detectable for nearly a half-mile radius," the health department said in a statement Friday. "The water ran for approximately 100 yards before it froze."Samples were collected from the ditch and have been sent to the state Division of Water Quality for testing, said Scott Hacking, district engineer with the state Department of Environmental Quality. The water used by the county came from ponds owned by Western Energy Operating LLC, based in Casper, Wyo., he said.
"(The county) had obtained the water not at the discharge point, but upstream before the water was fully treated," Hacking said. "It's very hot water -- around 85 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit -- that's why Uintah County has used it for de-icing culverts that are a problem in the winter. Apparently it's a practice that's been going on for 20 or 30 years."
Uintah County Commission Chairwoman Darlene Burns said commissioners had no knowledge of the road department's actions and were stunned when Brown informed them of what had happened. They immediately met with the head of the road department, she said, and ordered him to put a stop to the practice "until further information could be collected."
"We're asking them to find other means to de-ice the culverts," Burns said, when asked if any county employees had been disciplined after commissioners learned about the practice.
Commissioners, after a Jan. 12 meeting with Brown and Hacking, sent crews to clean up the ditch on 500 West and 1500 North. The cleanup effort was completed by the following day, Burns said.
Based on the outcome of its investigation, the state could issue the county a notice of violation, Hacking said. Western Energy Operating could also face state sanctions, he said.
"The facility operator shouldn't have been allowing this access," Hacking said. "The place where this water was obtained, any truck could back up and throw a hose in. There's no gate, no signs -- totally unrestricted access."
Jim Springer, spokesman for the state Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, said the agency is investigating Western Energy's wastewater facility in Uintah County.
"There seems to be a problem there that we're looking into," Springer said.
Paul Hannah, Western Energy's operations manager, said he would not comment on the situation, "until I get more details from the regulatory agencies."
"I'm doing my own investigation, too," Hannah added.
E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com
