Clarksburg Plant: Drilling Wastewater Safe
Morgantown Dominion Post
20 May 2009
CLARKSBURG —Pollutants not yet regulated in West Virginia are being
pumped into the West Fork River at levels higher than neighboring
Pennsylvania allows.
A state newspaper used the Freedom of Information Act to examine how
the Clarksburg treatment plant handles waste-water produced by gas
drilling, or fracking water.
It found the level of total dissolved solids averaging 527 parts per
million, slightly higher than the 500 parts per million Pennsylvania
permits.
Plant superintendent Bill Goodwin said levels have gone up to 852 parts
per million and as low as 276. But he said the discharge is safe.
Clarksburg treats 40,000 gallons a day under a state-approved pilot
program.