A report by the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Environmental Integrity Project says that "several oil and gas companies have been illegally using diesel fuel in
their hydraulic fracturing operations, and then doctoring records to
hide violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act," Naveena Sadasivam reports for ProPublica. The act requires drilling companies to obtain
permits when using diesel fuel in fracking, and companies have "to notify nearby
landowners of their activity, report the chemical and physical
characteristics of the fluids used, conduct water quality tests before
and after drilling, and test the integrity of well structures to ensure
they can withstand high injection pressures."
The report "found that between 2010 and July 2014 at least 351 wells were fracked
by 33 different companies using diesel fuels without a permit," Sadasivam writes. "The report asserts that the industry data shows that the companies
admitted using diesel without the proper permits. The Integrity
Project's analysis, the report said, then showed that in some 30 percent
of those cases, the companies later removed the information about their
diesel use from the database." (Environmental Integrity Project graphic)
"The report asserts that the industry data shows that the companies admitted using diesel without the proper permits," Sadasivam writes. "The Integrity Project's analysis, the report said, then showed that in some 30 percent of those cases, the companies later removed the information about their diesel use from the database."
The report was based on information from FracFocus, an online registry that allows companies to list the chemicals they use during fracking, Sadasivam writes. Using information on current disclosures, compared to past ones, "The report found that six companies had changed disclosures for wells; Pioneer Natural Resources accounted for 62 of the changes." Pioneer blames the changes on coding errors. The Independent Petroleum Association of America criticized the report "for including diesel use that occurred prior to a 2014 Environmental Protection Agency rule clarifying the types of chemicals considered 'diesel fuels'," Sadasivam reports.
"The report asserts that the industry data shows that the companies admitted using diesel without the proper permits," Sadasivam writes. "The Integrity Project's analysis, the report said, then showed that in some 30 percent of those cases, the companies later removed the information about their diesel use from the database."
The report was based on information from FracFocus, an online registry that allows companies to list the chemicals they use during fracking, Sadasivam writes. Using information on current disclosures, compared to past ones, "The report found that six companies had changed disclosures for wells; Pioneer Natural Resources accounted for 62 of the changes." Pioneer blames the changes on coding errors. The Independent Petroleum Association of America criticized the report "for including diesel use that occurred prior to a 2014 Environmental Protection Agency rule clarifying the types of chemicals considered 'diesel fuels'," Sadasivam reports.
No comments:
Post a Comment