Frack Panel to Industry: Fix Environmental Problems (updated)

Frack Panel to Industry: Fix Environmental Problems

By MIKE SORAGHAN of Greenwire

Although President Obama's "fracking" panel offered few specifics today on how to make shale gas drilling safer, it delivered a warning to the shale gas drilling industry: Clean up your act or your business could suffer.

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The panel's report (pdf), released this morning, offers a series of recommendations for amassing more information on the effects of drilling and sharing that information with the public. It suggests no changes in specific laws, regulations or enforcement.

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Instead, the report's strongest statement may be that there is, indeed, a problem.

That narrative drew praise from environmentalists. But it was dismissed by at least one major industry group, which said the panel lacked the necessary knowledge of the oil and gas business.

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The DOE panel also weighed in on these issues, urging the natural gas industry to disclose chemicals used in the water-sand mixture that pushes shale gas to the surface. Due to a 2005 exemption from the Clean Water Act aggressively supported by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, natural gas companies in most states do not have to reveal what type of chemicals are being pumped underground.

The DOE panel said the law needed to change:


The panel also urged companies to stop pouring diesel underground, again explaining that there is “no technical or economic reason” for its use.

Other recommendations include better water-recycling methods, increased air-quality standards to lower on-site emissions, and more R&D to develop “green” fracking mixtures.

As the debate about the true cleanliness of shale gas rages on, the DOE is trying to get out ahead of the issue. The next step will be to turn these guidelines into action — a task that will prove much more difficult than simply issuing recommendations.