Federal Rules on Hydraulic Fracturing May Serve as Model for States
Posted on Fri, Feb 03, 2012
Upstreamonline.com reported federal rules for hydraulic fracturing on public lands, set to be released in a few weeks, may serve as a model for states to get companies to disclose the chemicals used in the drilling process, an Obama administration official said.
The proposed federal standards will be compatible with rules already in place in states such as Wyoming and Texas, and will allow limited exemptions for “legitimate trade secrets”, David Hayes, the deputy Interior secretary, said on Thursday, according to a Bloomberg report.
“What we expect is that the momentum that you already see in states for disclosure will be reinforced by what we do,” Hayes told the news wire. “Most folks would like to see an across-the-board approach to deal with these issues.”
The US Interior Department began consideration of regulations for production of natural gas and oil from shale on federal lands last year. In addition to chemical disclosures, the rules will set standards for well construction, which is the most important aspect to ensure that groundwater is not contaminated, he said.
The US holds an estimated 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to meet domestic demand for about a century at current consumption rates, according to the Energy Department.
At least 90% of US onshore natural-gas production comes from fracking, according to Richard Spears, vice president of the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based consulting company Spears & Associates.
Federal rules governing fracking have taken on new importance following President Barack Obama’s advocacy in his State of the Union address for drilling for natural gas in shale, which he said will mean the country does not have to “choose between our environment and our economy”.
In that address, Obama highlighted the Interior Department’s standards for the disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking on public lands as one way the federal government would protect the environment and reassure the public that the process is safe.
“Leading companies recognize that this is an appropriate thing to be asking,” Hayes said.
Among those is Anadarko Petroleum of The Woodlands, Texas, he said.
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