The IPAA, via its Energy in Depth blog, said a new research from Duke, Stanford and Dartmouth universities lumped conventional and unconventional wastewater together, even though Marcellus producers stopped bringing wastewater to treatment plants in 2011, and are now recycling 90% of their flow-back water.

The study focused on two potentially hazardous contaminants – ammonium and iodide – which they say are found at high levels in both unconventional and conventional wastewater.

The IPAA said, however, that the researchers then suggest that high levels of ammonium and iodide were being discharged by water treatment plants, even though they did not measure ammonium and iodide in public water treatment plants.

“Meanwhile, as shale development has skyrocketed in Pennsylvania the water quality of the Monongahela River has continued to improve,” the IPAA said in its blog called Latest Duke study has nothing to do with shale development.

“With all this in mind, it’s not clear if the report’s intention was to malign fraccing by cleverly presenting data on waste water that doesn’t come from fraccing, or if it was just poorly written.”

The researchers conceded that oil and gas waste disposal through publicly owned treatment works and waste water treatment plants was terminated and that several of the brine treatment sites reported accepting only produced waters from conventional oil and gas operations.

The IPAA added that Fluid Recovery Services, which operates one of the treatment plants referenced in the study – Josephine Brine Treatment Facility – said in 2013 that it was in full compliance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection permitting requirements and agreements.

FRS added that the facility was operating under the authorised NPDES permits and “has not processed any wastewater classified as originating from unconventional sources such as Marcellus Shale since 2011”

While the IPAA appreciated that the researchers “finally admitted” that Marcellus shale developers were not bringing flow-back to water treatment plants, they still group conventional and unconventional wastewater together.

“In turn, not making this distinction has allowed people to interpret the data inaccurately and generate disingenuous headlines about hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian region,” the IPAA said.

According to the report, several of the brine treatment sites reported accepting only produced waters from conventional oil and gas operations.

“Since the first conventional well was developed in Pennsylvania and the technology was available, oil and gas operators have been using various water management services, including Pennsylvania Brine Treatment and Hart Resource Technologies, which have decades of experience,” the IPAA said.

“These companies were merged with FRS in 2013 to expand their network from three to five central water management facilities located in Franklin, Josephine, Creekside, Rouseville and Tioga.

“Three of these facilities are mentioned in the report.”