PA House environmental committee examines impacts of new brine drilling permits and effects of road spreading drilling wastewater
Production brine is a public health hazard & restrictions are hard to enforce
Rep. Greg Vitali October 5, 2026 | 2:56 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 5 – Today, the state House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee held a public hearing to investigate the need for and the impact of DEP’s recently issued brine drilling permit in Northwest Pennsylvania and the effects of spreading drilling wastewater on roads.
Committee Chair Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, says that spreading wastewater, also referred to as brine, from conventional oil and gas wells on unpaved roads had been a longstanding practice for dust suppression, road stabilization and ice prevention. However, this brine contains toxic chemicals and has negative impacts on public health and the environment.
“Drilling wastewater is a concern for many reasons, not the least of which is that it has been found to have a higher salt content than sea water and contains toxic elements like radium. Even though it’s prohibited by administrative action, we know that brine is routinely spread on roads,” said Vitali.
Vitali said that DEP’s newly issued brine drilling permit lacks testing and treatment requirements and does not include any restrictions on the use of extracted brine leading to concerns that it could be used for road spreading.
“I have several concerns about the mineral brine permit that was issued in a recent settlement, including that it could provide a loophole for road spreading, and also that it could be a pretext for not plugging wells because it would be considered still active for brine extraction,” Vitali said. “I’m very concerned about the understaffing and lack of funding for DEP to properly and effectively enforce regulations and control the use of prohibited substances like brine.”
Dr. William Burgos is a professor of Environmental Engineering at Penn State and was part of a recent study which found that production brine spreading exposes groundwater, soil, and air to contaminants like metals, salts, and radioactive materials, specifically radium.
“Produced waters from conventional oil and gas wells are commonly no more effective than rainwater in suppressing dust from dirt and gravel roads and contain elevated concentrations of radium, a known carcinogen, and other contaminants of concern,” said Burgos.
Eric Chase, assistant teaching professor and assistant director of the Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies Center at Penn State, supported that there is no valid long-term beneficial reuse of wastewater or product brine.
“While there is a temporary reprieve from dust while the oil and gas produced water is wet on the road surface, that effect reverses once it dries and ultimately can produce more dust than before, driving up long-term maintenance costs as the road surface degrades,” Chase attested.
David Hess, who served as secretary of DEP under PA Govs. Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker testified that the state has “world class” methods for reclaiming and reusing contaminated water but lacks proper solutions to managing the fluids alongside public health.
“We are here today discussing contaminated water from conventional oil and gas wells because we have failed to provide solutions to managing these fluids in a way that is compatible with industry operations and meets environmental, health and safety requirements,” said Hess. “The solution to this problem cannot be the continued dumping of more contaminated water, ‘mineral brine,’ or production wastewater on our public roads or anywhere else.”
Shannon Smith, executive director of FracTracker Alliance, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that monitors and reports on the oil and gas industry and has filed an appeal to the recently issued mineral brine permit, testified to the lack of transparency on when and where wastewater is being introduced to the environment.
“FracTracker urges this committee to advance a clear statewide ban on the road spreading of oil and gas wastewater and formation brine, including material characterized as ‘mineral brine,’ a coproduct, or a commercial product, because those classifications do not by themselves change the chemical composition or potential environmental risks of the materials being applied,” Smith said.
Vitali has introduced H.B. 84, which would codify the legal prohibition of spreading production brine on land. The measure was approved by the committee along party lines in June 2026 and awaits possible consideration by the full House of Representatives.