Interior Secretary Ken Salazar brushed off attacks from Republicans on Wednesday regarding his department’s plans to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal public lands.
According to a leaked draft of the rules, the Bureau of Land Management would require companies operating on federal lands to disclose chemicals in their fracturing fluids, impose standards meant to ensure wells can withstand fracturing, and require companies to explain how they plan to dispose of flowback water. Trade secrets would be exempt from the fracturing fluids disclosure.
Republican lawmakers contend that industry has done hydraulic fracturing safely for decades, and that the regulations would undermine further development of promising natural gas supplies. Some also suggested the department should hold off until the Environmental Protection Agency finishes a multi-year study on hydraulic fracturing’s effect on water.
“I would suggest to you, if you’re going to spend money and effort on rules you’re going to enforce, you really ought to wait for the study,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler.
Salazar said hydraulic fracturing — in which water, sand and chemicals are injected underground at high pressures to break up rock and free up trapped oil and gas — has been done and can be done safely. But he told the House Natural Resources Committee the “common sense rules” are needed to reassure an American public that has concerns about the safety and environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, which has rapidly expanded as new technologies have enabled drillers to tap more of the nation’s natural gas, especially in shale formations.
“What we need to do is make sure the American public is confident the health and environment are being protected as hydraulic fracking proceeds,” Salazar said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The discussion overshadowed what was supposed to be a hearing on the department’s proposed fiscal 2013 budget. Long in the works, the rules would come as part of what President Barack Obama has said is his support for developing domestic natural gas but doing so “without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.”
Republicans raised concerns the draft rules would conflict with or duplicate state regulations — a concern that industry groups have raised in recent days.
Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan, expressed concerns that the draft didn’t refer to FracFocus.org, a chemical-registry website started by state regulators that is mostly voluntary but where some states like Texas now require companies to disclose their chemicals.
Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes told the committee the rules, once formally proposed, would differ from the draft and said the department would take comment on FracFocus.org and other state-based disclosure systems. “We have no interest in creating conflict with state regulation,” Hayes said.
Salazar said the Interior Department has conducted “a massive outreach effort that has included input from tribes, states, industry and environmental community.” The department also will have to take public comment on the rules it proposes, he said.
Salazar contended that companies “don’t like to deal with a patchwork of regulation” that varies from state to state and they prefer uniformity. He said the Interior rules won’t apply to non-federal lands but “may create a template for what ought to be happening across the country as well.”
Republican lawmakers contended that much of the public concern Salazar cited as motivating the rules stemmed from an Environmental Protection Agency draft study linking fracturing to water contamination in Pavillion, Wyo., a report they contend is flawed. The EPA has defended the study’s science while acknowledging its findings apply only to the unique geology of that area’s gas field.
“Hopefully we can get EPA to stop the hysteria until they have science to support them,” Gohmert said.
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., noted that Interior is requesting funding in 2013 to conduct a multi-agency study of hydraulic fracturing on the heels of an EPA study he called “faulty.”
Salazar said the “jury is still out” on the EPA study. But he added that Interior was working with EPA to ensure the study goes through peer review and yields a conclusive finding on whether that fracturing caused the contamination or another problem did, perhaps involving well-bore integrity.
Republicans have three basic responses to choose from on any issue:
1. It’s about jobs
2. That’s socialism
3. Think of the children
“The EPA has defended the study’s science while acknowledging its findings apply only to the unique geology of that area’s gas field.”
“Hopefully we can get EPA to stop the hysteria until they have science to support them,” Gohmert said.
They don’t sound hysterical to me. Just sounds like more of the usual “divide and conquer” strategy of the industry to keep regulation at a “manageable” and obfuscating state and local level.
There is NOTHING wrong with full disclosure. What are the drillers hiding?
LoL. Wow conservatives make up your minds.
Now you don’t want any fracking to stop until the EPA has done their due diligence.
But, when it comes to the Canada pipe line the EPA are a bunch of idiots that can’t be trusted.
Transparent much?
Big business will do whatever it takes to make every penny possible. If that means destroying a water supply, so be it. It’s not like they’re going to be the ones to live in that area after they pump poison into the ground.
If it means paying off certain political figures, it’s what needs to be done in their eyes. They never think about humanity.
Fracking disturbs the snail darters and could possibly, maybe, hurt the water table. But that’s enough to shut down all exploration of all fossil fuels. The people need to buy electric vehicles and if they don’t, pay $5 for gas. They need to buy our health insurance because the poor need it, so taxpayers need to pay for it. Fracking? Just another excuse to make sure we aren’t energy independent.
If the industry wasn’t doing something hazardous, that might be hazardous, or consider doing something in the future that might be hazardous, why would they fight these proposed rules?
The more they fight these rules the more importantly we should consider the import of such rules as far as the safety of their employees, the environment and the American people.
As partial proof, just look at the stonewalling going on between those in the industry. The truth be damned as far as they are concerned. Profits are more important than safety for us all.
To be fair to Salazar, uniform standards and measurement are essential for effective, safe fracing.
To fail to do so, puts honest safe operators at an economic disadvantage to those who only care about and nothing about safety or the environment.
Boehner and Company need to calm down and talk with Salazar and work out the details.
What really puzzles me is why B P is allowed to do ANYTHING in the gulf.
That is supreme stupidity at best.
so many idiots, so little time. get these guys out of office!
“FracFocus.org” … now that’s rich, did Salazar come up with that? More tax dollars flushed away.
Thanks to the Obamacrates, we now have independent film makers shaping our national energy policy.
Well completion has been, and is, as safe as possible in that it takes place through casing into a formation that is well below any water table concerned that has been isolated by cement/concrete, both below and above that has, by previous laws, been fully tested for integrity. No, Salazar is just taking a lesson from Professor Obama’s Rules of Left-Wing Government. That is, if you can’t get the people to depend on government willingly; you just mandate and restrict them until they succumb to Big Government! In fact, next to Obama, Salazar and his band of merry men has done more to stall the economy in the past four years than any of the Obamanista regime! The sooner this loser is sent packing the better!
“and that the regulations would undermine further development of promising natural gas supplies.”
Correct me if I’m wrong oil patch boys & girls but isn’t NG at a ten year low in price and aren’t outfits capping current NG wells until the market makes it more economical to operate?
It’s just common sense. There are harmful chemicals in fracking fluids that you really shouldn’t drink. Wells have contaminated water supplies. The top 5 oil companies made over $36 billion in profits the past quarter, so they can afford a little regulation. The Republicans really do represent a “winner-take-all” approach to regulation.
Salazar says these are “common sense rules” but unfortunately that is exactlly what the federal government lacks and they lack common sense regardless of which party is in power.
This guy has been killing jobs since he was a Colorado Senator. We threw his brother out (as a Congressman) only to have our Governor hire him. This bureaucrat was destined for the same result but, the Obama Adminstration snapped him up. Any questions now about why?
“I would suggest to you, if you’re going to spend money and effort on rules you’re going to enforce, you really ought to wait for the study,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler.
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That makes sense on the face of it but one wonders what he’s going to say if the study comes back recommending even more stringent regulation.
Just tell us what’s in it and give us a sample of it. How hard is that?
Why not require markers to be put in all mud/water/chemical and each job site put the markers in when/where injected into the ground so as they could tell if it their product causing the problems.
Frank
MickR is full of bull. The Salazars are well respected Coloradoans (I’m sure unlike Mick) and represented the agricultural interests in our state well. The moron who replaced representative Salazar in southern Colorado has proved to be a complete waste and will lose badly in the next election.
CAD1936 – the O&G companies aren’t against regulation, because it believes regulation exposes dark, hidden secrets of industry. It is against “redundant” regulation such as Salazar and the federal government asit is overstepping its boundaries saying state regulators aren’t doing a good enough job. Many states already require disclosure with new state fracking laws being enacted every day.
SaltWater – yet again rhetoric about how fracking has destoryed water supplies. Obviously you will respond with the recent EPA study (which has been ripped apart in review) as your proof, however if that is your only argument that’s quite sad.