Inquiring minds can’t help but wonder if there has been some fracking going in in the Jay oil fields? Or maybe this is related to the deep-well injection just a short distance to the west, where the former Monsanto chemical plant (now called “Ascend”) injects hazardous waste into the Floridan aquifer every day (up to 4 million gpd). There’s also shallow well injection in the oil fields of Jay and Gulf Power is injecting right across the Escambia River as well. Oh yes, and don’t forget the two chemical plants in Pace/Pea Ridge that are also deep well injecting chemicals. I have wondered for years, what happens if all those toxic chemicals collide underneath us? Many are very volatile.
The one thing we know for sure is that our local governments don’t want to discuss any of this. Do they know that injecting hazardous waste into the aquifer was outlawed decades ago? Our chemical plants got “grand-fathered” in. Whatever that is supposed to mean.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-
JAY — An earthquake hit the small Santa Rosa County community of Jay on Wednesday.
Some residents of the area were reported to have felt the earthquake, which registered 2.6 on the Richter Scale, but the United States Geological Survey could not confirm those reports, according to a news release.
The quake was reported to have occurred at about 10:45 p.m. near Bray Mill Creek.
There is a Jay Fault buried deep under the ground in the area where the earthquake occurred, according to Sarah Shellabarger, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
“There have been reports of earthquakes in this area (Pensacola, Southern Alabama) in historical literature, but prior to the development of modern earthquake detection methods, it was impossible to tell exactly where the epicenter of an earthquake was,” Shellabarger said in an email response to questions about the tremor.
Information on Deepwell injection occurring in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties. Some of the information is older, so the injection amounts might need to be updated. Wanted to share so you would have the information. Several of us in the area are working on the causes of the earthquakes (now 4). I have a theory (drilling, deepwell injection, combination of the two), but we won’t make any claims until we have scientifically-based information.
Ascend Performance Materials LLC – Cantonment, FL (Escambia)
To operate a deep-well system consisting of three (3) Class I injection wells and all appurtenances at its Pensacola, Florida plant to dispose of pretreated, non-hazardous, industrial wastewaters. Routine operation of the system is limited to a maximum injection rate of 2800 GPM and a maximum rate of 1400 GPM for Wells B and C and 1200 GPM for Well A. A provision is included for an injection rate of up to 3600 GPM utilizing two or three wells at permitted rates for any individual well under specific circumstances. The wastewaters result primarily from synthetic fibers and organic chemicals manufacturing, including the manufacture and purification of cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone, phenol, nitric acid, adipic acid, hydrogen, hexamethylenediamine, dimethyl esters, maleic anhydride, nylon fibers, and nylon polymer, and CEREX. Wastewater is also generated from other activities, such as laboratory, maintenance and utility operations, cooling tower blow down, chilled water blow down, chilled water, boiler blow down, steam condensate, air conditioning condensate, storm water, firewater that has the potential to contact plant chemicals, wash/cleanout wastewater, domestic wastewater plant effluent, incidental releases within the manufacturing facilities of plant process materials that are currently managed by the wastewater deep well injection system and CEREX neutralized wastewater. None of these streams are categorized as hazardous waste at the point of injection.
Gulf Power Company Crist Plant – Pensacola, FL (Escambia)
Operate two nominal 7 inch diameter fully cemented tubing Class I injection wells (IW-1 and IW-2), with cemented 14” steel casing to approximately 1,400 feet below land surface (bls). Injection is into the Lower Floridan aquifer for the disposal of nonhazardous, treated wastewater consisting of flue gas desulfurization emission control wastewater, storm water and de minimis amounts of laboratory wastes from the Gulf Power Crist Plant. The permitted capacity for the two wells combined is 0.72 MGD or 500 gpm per well, with each well capable of accepting the maximum flow The single zone monitoring wells (UFA-1 and UFA-2) are completed to 1175 feet bls and will monitor the upper Floridan aquifer from 975 to 1175 feet bls.
Sterling Fibers – – Pace, FL (Santa Rosa)
Operation of up to a 1.73 MGD (design capacity) Class I injection well that was originally approved in 1975 to dispose of pretreated non-hazardous industrial wastewaters. Currently non-hazardous wastewaters from the processing of purchased fiber including fibrillation, fiber conductivity enhancements and short fiber cutting may be disposed of by subsurface injection. The manufacture and purification of acrylic polymer, recovery and purification of the aqueous inorganic solvent no longer occurs at the facility. Sterling also receives discharges, composed of mostly cooling water, from the Santa Rosa Energy Center (SREC) that is co-located at the Sterling Facility (and owned by Calpine Corporation). Per agreement, SREC discharges have a limit of 0.4 million gallons per day (mgd). This permit also allows the injection of non-hazardous secondary treated municipal effluent from Pace Water Systems (PWS) through use of the Sterling facilities. Other components of the Sterling wastewater stream may include contaminated ground water from aquifer remediation programs and storm water contaminated by these and other activities.
Wastewater may also be generated from other activities, such as laboratory and utility operations, cooling tower blow down, maintenance, storm water, wash/cleanout wastewater and firewater that have the potential to contact plant chemicals.
Based on the current wastewater composition, sufficient pretreatment consists of equalization and sedimentation (other unit processes may be used as required). Disposal is into the limestone of the lower Floridan aquifer as authorized by this permit.
Air Products and Chemicals – – Pace, FL (Santa Rosa)
The injection well is utilized for the disposal of treated non-hazardous ground water from the shallow Sand and Gravel aquifer remediation project located at the Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Escambia Plant. The injection well discharges approximately 2.5 million gallons per day (MGD) to a Class G-III Exempted aquifer and addresses contamination of dinitrotoluene (DNT) as required by Department Consent Order OGC File No. 94-1833 effective September 19, 1995 and U.S. EPA Administrative Order on Consent, Docket No. 95-04-R, effective September 29, 1995.