Underground sources of drinking water (USDW) are federally-protected by the Safe Drinking Water Act’s (SDWA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. However, there is a little known provision that allows certain oil and gas and mining activity to occur in groundwater that would otherwise be protected as a drinking water source. This is an aquifer exemption.

Aquifer Exemptions at a Glance• EPAdevelopedtheAquiferExemptionprogramin

the1980’swhenoilandgasinterestsarguedthatcertainenergyextractionactivitieswouldnotbepossibleifeveryundergroundsourceofdrinkingwaterwereprotected.

• Aquiferexemptionsessentially“writeoff”undergroundsourcesofdrinkingwatertoallowforcertainoilandgasandminingactivitytooccur.

• Oilandgascompaniesuseaquiferexemptionsfortwoprimarypurposes:toinjectwastewaterundergroundfordisposal,ortoinjectwater,steamandotherfluidsforenhancedoilrecovery(ER).

• Thelatest,yetincompletedatashowalmost5,000exemptedaquifersthroughoutthecountry.

• Thereare1,134aquiferexemptionsinCaliforniaalone.

• Roughly70%ofaquiferexemptionshavebeenissuedforenhancedoilrecoveryactivities.

• 66%ofexemptionslackanydatadocumentingthewaterqualityoftheaquiferthatwasexempted.

• Thecriteriaforexemptingaquiferswerewrittenmorethan30yearsago.Theydonotreflectthemodernthreatstodrinkingwater,changesindemandforgroundwater,impactsofclimatechangeonwaterresourcesandimprovementsinwatertreatmentandwelldrillingtechnology.

• Theoutdatedcriteriacouldresultinaquifersthatwereonceconsiderednotsuitableforhumanconsumption,becomingnecessarydrinkingwatersourcesnoworinthefuture.

• SomeexemptionsweregrandfatheredinduringdevelopmentofstateUICprogramswithlittlereviewofthecriteria.

AQUIFER EXEMPTIONS:Prioritizing Fossil Fuel Production Over Drinking Water

Sources:Esri,DeLome,HERE,TomTom,Intermap,incrementPCorp.,GEBCO,USGS,FAO,NPS,NRCAN,GeoBase,IGN,KadasterNL,OrdnanceSurvey,EsriJapan,METIEsriChina(HongKong),swisstopo,andtheGISUserCommunity.AvailableEPAdataasofMay2014.

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Full list and location of all aquifer exemptions are unknownAquifer Exemption Snapshot

Concerns with Exempting AquifersUndergroundinjectionoffluidsandwastewaterposeamajorthreattoUSDWs.ThisiswhytheSDWAcreatedaprogramdesignedspecificallytoprotectdrinkingwaterfromtheseactivities.ExemptingaquifersfromthisprotectionprogramisoutofstepwiththeintentofSDWAandcreatesaregulatoryenvironmentthatrisksprioritizingenergyextractionoverprotectionofsourcesofdrinkingwater.Itallowstheinjectionofcontaminatedwastewaterandotherchemicalsintogroundwaterthatwouldotherwisebeprotectedasapotentialsourceofdrinkingwater.

BothStateandFederalregulatorshavefailedtoeffectivelyimplementthisprogram.AttheFederallevel,thereiscurrentlynonationalinventory,definitivecountorgeographiclocationofeveryexemptiongranted.Inatleastonestate,failuretoimplementaquiferexemptionsproperlyledtomajorproblems.California’sDivisionofOilGasandGeothermalResources(DOGGR),issuedpermitsthatallowedmorethan5,000enhancedrecoverywellsand500disposalwellstoinjectwasteandotherchemicalsintoaquifersthatweresupposedtobeprotected.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:www.cleanwateraction.org|CFacebook.com/cleanwateraction

1444EyeStreetNW,Suite400,Washington,DC20005Tel.202.895.0420|Fax202.895.0438|cwa@cleanwater.org

RecommendationsThefundamentalpremiseoftheAquiferExemptionprogram—thattherearecircumstanceswhenEPAbelievesotherinterestsareparamounttoUSDWprotection—begsforrigorousexaminationandoversight.NoAquiferExemptionhaseverbeenrescindedandrestoringanaquiferaftermillionsofgallonsofoilandgaswasteareinjectedintoitishighlyunlikely.Exempting an aquifer is to sacrifice it as a drinking water source forever.We are calling on EPA to:

1. Imposeanimmediatemoratoriumongrantinganynewexemptionsuntilnewrulesandclarifyingproceduresareputinplace,includingfullandtransparentopportunitiesforpublicnoticeandabilitytocommentoneachaquiferexemptionapplication;

2. ExpeditedevelopmentanddisclosureofanationalinventoryofallcurrentandpastAquiferExemptions,inlistandspatialformatwiththecorrespondingStatementofBasisforeachdetermination;

3. Documentinjectionactivityinexemptaquiferstodateandwhereexemptionshavebeengrantedbutnotutilized.Documentifexemptionsweregrantedforotheractivitiesoutsideofwastedisposalandenhancedrecoveryoruraniummining;

4. InvestigatewhetherastreamlinedapprovalprocessforstatestoimplementUICprogramsrelatedtooilandgasactivityhasplayedaroleintheAquiferExemptionprogramoversightandmanagementproblems.