Rep. Hinchey and EPA Admin Jackson on hydrofracturing for natural gas

http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/May09/20/frack_Hinchey-20May09.html

Hinchey gets EPA administrator to acknowledge hydraulic fracturing impact on drinking water should be considered

WASHINGTON - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) used a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior hearing Tuesday to ask U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to conduct a review of her agency's policy on the risk that hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas exploration and drilling poses to drinking water supplies. Jackson told Hinchey that she believed her agency should review the risk that fracturing poses to drinking water in light of various cases across the country that raise questions about the safety.

"It's imperative that we protect our drinking water supplies from harmful chemicals that are being pumped into the ground by oil and gas companies looking to produce on more and more land in New York and across the country," Hinchey said. "I was extremely pleased that EPA Administrator Jackson recognized the need for the EPA to reexamine the Bush administration's misguided views on the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing. We are in a much stronger position to protect our drinking water now that we have an administration in place that is committed to environmental protection. While there is value in drilling for natural gas, it's imperative that we do so in a manner that doesn't have long-term environmental consequences on our drinking water -- a resource that is critical to human health and survival."

In the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which Hinchey strongly opposed and voted against, Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act, which was designed to protect people's water supply from contamination from toxic materials. This loophole, which some have called the Halliburton Loophole, has created “an extremely dangerous set of circumstances,” said the Hudson Valley lawmaker.

Hydraulic fracturing -- also known as “fracking” -- involves injecting fluids into a well at extremely high pressure to crack open an underground formation and then prop open the new fractures in order to facilitate the flow of oil and gas out of the well. More than 90 percent of oil and gas wells in the U.S. undergo this treatment with many undergoing it more than once over the life of the well.

I wonder if those who came up with the term understand the BSG reference there.

From what I've heard, it's the gas drilling companies that call it that for short (often written fracing or frac'ing)

These people rely on their wells for household use, and the gas in their water is making them sick, potentially putting them at risk for house, garage and other building explosions.

The unintended Battle Star Galactica reference is a bonus.