Environmentalists and several congressional Democrats are pushing to require natural-gas drilling companies to disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations, but even if they succeed another battle may be on the horizon to define how much information disclosure entails. "Fracking" is a decades-old drilling technique that involves blasting sand, water and a cocktail of chemicals into the ground to create small cracks in rock formations, releasing natural gas. It has become more prevalent in opening vast gas reserves in deep, dense shale formations. "Industry maintains the practice is safe and well-regulated by states, but environmentalists and some congressional Democrats worry that the technique will pollute underground water supplies," Katie Howell of Environment & Energy Daily summarizes.
Earlier this month we reported Wyoming had passed the strictest fracking regulations to date, requiring companies to submit a list of chemicals used along with their concentrations to regulators as part of the permitting process. Trade secrets in the list will remain confidential. Other states, including Colorado, require companies to keep an inventory of chemicals used and release the list only in case of an emergency or accident.
Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee earlier this year he "would be willing to disclose the chemicals included in fracturing fluids -- just not under federal regulation," Howell writes. Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, the primary author of the "FRAC Act," which would require drillers to disclose fracturing chemicals under the Safe Drinking Water Act, refutes industry claims that most states already require disclosure and says just three states have guidelines strict enough to be considered true disclosure. "It's pretty simple what's disclosure and what's not," Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Howell. "What's good enough is what's in the FRAC Act." (Read more)
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