Brent Bowden

March 5, 2010

Pressure is continuing to build for a more detailed look into the practice of fracture drilling. Fracture drilling is a controversial process that allows access to otherwise unattainable natural gas reserves, but, potentially, at the risk of contaminating ground-water. The process injects a combination of water and chemicals into the ground to break through layers of rock. The energy companies that utilize fracture drilling have been extremely secretive about the cocktail of chemicals they mix with the water, a fact that has added to the public concern.

Congress recently decided to investigate the practice. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has requested information from eight companies that utilize fracture drilling. The committee is seeking information on the chemicals used in the process and any potential impact on the environment or human health. The EPA last looked at the issue in 2004, concluding that fracturing was safe in a study that has since been criticized by opponents. The EPA's 2004 decision was at least partially based on an agreement with major companies, including Halliburton and BJ Services, that they would stop using diesel fuel in their cocktails. BJ Services and Halliburton have both acknowledged to Congress that they continued the use of diesel fuel after the agreement. BJ Services admits that their use was in violation of the agreement with the EPA, while Halliburton maintains that their use was not in violation of the agreement because "the agreement only covers coalbed methane gas development activities occurring in association with Underground Sources of Drinking Water, and not projects in other unconventional gas development activities or conventional formations."

The EPA has also showed a renewed interest in investigating the process. Congress had requested that the EPA look into wastewater and drilling mud from the drilling, but they recently received a petition filed by 63 groups, including major environmental organizations, requesting that they also look at the drilling process itself. The EPA responded that it would work with Congress and look into the practice "as soon as possible" due to the possible danger.

Energy companies maintain that there is no proven link between fracturing and contamination of drinking water, and that, although there is no need for an additional study, they are not worried about what it will find. It is not yet clear whether the companies will voluntarily give Congress the information it seeks about the chemicals that are used. In the past they have claimed that keeping their chemical cocktails secret was critical to prevent other companies from stealing the recipes they had developed.

Opponents of the drilling claim that the lack of research and the secrecy about the chemicals used is the reason that no link can be scientifically proven. They point to numerous cases where drinking water near fracture drilling sites has become contaminated. This string of cases has been well documented by ProPublica. They hope that a more thorough study and disclosure of the chemicals used will lead to more protective regulations on the practice.

While it is unclear how searching the investigations into the issue will be, it does seem clear that more information will enable Congress and EPA to make a more reasoned decision regarding the extent to which fracture drilling should be regulated.

Sources:

Ben Casselman, Congress Investigates Controversial Drilling Technique, Feb. 18, 2010, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704269004575073763606365280.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews.

Committee On Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, Energy & Commerce Committee Investigates Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing (Feb. 18, 1020), available at http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1896:energy-a-commerce-committee-investigates-potential-impacts-of-hydraulic-fracturing&catid=122:media-advisories&Itemid=55.

Jon Hurdle, Environmental Groups Seek Hydraulic Fracturing Study, Reuters, Mar. 2, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0218854220100302.

Sabrina Shankman & Abrahm Lustgarten, Congress Launches Investigation Into Gas Drilling Practices, ProPublica, Feb. 19, 2010, http://www.propublica.org/feature/congress-launches-investigation-into-gas-drilling-practices-219.

Mike Soraghan, Two Oil-Field Companies Acknowledge Fracking With Diesel, N.Y. Times, Feb. 19, 2010, available at http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/02/19/19greenwire-two-oil-field-companies-acknowledge-fracking-w-90863.html.

Memorandum from Chairman Henry A Waxman & Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey to Members of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment (Feb. 18, 2010), available at http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20100218/hydraulic_fracturing_memo.pdf.