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Wednesday, February 09, 2011

EPA announces extensive study of 'fracking'

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a draft plan on Tuesday to examine every "aspect of hydraulic fracturing, from water withdrawals to waste disposal," reports Nicholas Kusnetz for ProPublica. "If the study goes forward as planned, it would be the most comprehensive investigation of whether the drilling technique risks polluting drinking water near oil and gas wells across the nation," writes Kusnetz.

Energy in Depth, an oil and gas industry group, was not enthusiastic about the plan. "Our guys are and will continue to be supportive of a study approach that’s based on the science, true to its original intent and scope," a statement from the group read. "But at first blush, this document doesn’t appear to definitively say whether it’s an approach EPA will ultimately take." In the proposal, the EPA says that 603 rigs were drilling horizontal wells in June 2010, more than twice as many as were operating a year earlier. As drilling for gas increases, public concerns also increase. The EPA estimates that fracking uses 70 to 140 billion gallons of water annually, or about the same amount used by one or two cities of 2.5 million people.

The public can comment on the study after March 7-8, after the EPA's science advisory board reviews the draft plan. The full report is expected in 2014. (Read more)

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