Skip to main content
Find a Lawyer

Code of Federal Regulations Title 40. Protection of Environment § 40.435.33 Pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES)

Current as of January 02, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) PSES for wastewater from unconventional oil and gas extraction. Except as provided in 40 CFR 403.7 and 403.13, any existing source subject to this section, must achieve the following pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES).

(1) There shall be no discharge of wastewater pollutants associated with production, field exploration, drilling, well completion, or well treatment for unconventional oil and gas extraction (including, but not limited to, drilling muds, drill cuttings, produced sand, produced water) into publicly owned treatment works.

(2) For the purposes of this section,

(i) Unconventional oil and gas means crude oil and natural gas produced by a well drilled into a shale and/or tight formation (including, but not limited to, shale gas, shale oil, tight gas, tight oil).

(ii) Drill cuttings means the particles generated by drilling into subsurface geologic formations and carried out from the wellbore with the drilling fluid.

(iii) Drilling mud means the circulating fluid (mud) used in the rotary drilling of wells to clean and condition the hole and to counterbalance formation pressure.

(iv) Produced sand means the slurried particles used in hydraulic fracturing, the accumulated formation sands, and scales particles generated during production. Produced sand also includes desander discharge from the produced water waste stream, and blowdown of the water phase from the produced water treating system.

(v) Produced water means the fluid brought up from the hydrocarbon-bearing strata during the extraction of oil and gas, and includes, where present, formation water, injection water, and any chemicals added downhole or during the oil/water separation process.

(3) Compliance deadline for existing sources. Existing sources discharging into publicly owned treatment works on or between April 7, 2015 and June 28, 2016, shall comply with the PSES by August 29, 2019. All other existing sources shall comply by August 29, 2016.

(b) PSES for Wastewater from Conventional Oil and Gas Extraction. [Reserved]

Previous Part of Code Next Part of Code
Back to Chapter List

Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Code of Federal Regulations Title 40. Protection of Environment § 40.435.33 Pretreatment standards for existing sources (PSES) - last updated January 02, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/cfr/title-40-protection-of-environment/cfr-sect-40-435-33/

FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.

Was this helpful?

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes, visit FindLaw’s Learn About the Law.

Go to Learn About the Law

Latest Blog Posts

For Legal Professionals

Learn About The Law

Get help with your legal needs

FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.

Go to Learn About the Law

Need to Find an Attorney?

Search our directory by legal issue

Enter information in one or both fields (Required)

Copied to clipboard