President Obama's top environmental adviser said this week that the natural-gas industry should reveal the chemicals it uses in hydraulic fracturing to release gas from deep, tight shale formations. Joseph Aldy, special assistant to the president for energy and the environment, told attendees at a natural-gas conference Tuesday that "Concerns about water contamination from drilling chemicals could lead to states requiring disclosure and that could deter additional investment," Jon Hurdle of Reuters reports. Yesterday we reported a new study by an industry expert saying federal regulation is not needed to protect drinking water from the chemicals.
"You can't leave this in the status quo if you think we are going to have significant shale gas development in the United States," Aldy told Hurdle. Aldy said he didn't have enough information to say if the wastewater from fracking was mixing with groundwater, but said the industry is under pressure from people who think it does either way. He also declined to tell Hurdle whether the administration endorses the "FRAC Act" before Congress that would require drilling companies to disclose chemicals and give the Environmental Protection Agency oversight of the industry, which is now regulated almost entirely by states. (Read more)
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