New Federal Fracking Rules Rile Environmentalists, Oil and Gas Industry

News
May 17, 2013
 
Meg Handley
 
The Obama administration released its latest version of long-awaited rules proposed to govern hydraulic fracturing on public lands Thursday, angering environmental groups who say the government is selling out to the oil industry at the expense of public health.
 
The Interior Department's updated proposal, now open for public comments for the next 30 days, kept key components of the previous draft rules released in May 2012, but backpedaled on requiring companies to disclose the ingredients of fracking fluid, a cocktail of water, sand, and chemicals injected into well heads to break up shale rock and release trapped oil and gas.
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Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber's Institute for 21st Century Energy said in statement: "BLM's rule is a solution in search of a problem. States are much better suited to regulate hydraulic fracturing and have done an effective job. The new rule is duplicative to state regulation and the Department of Interior's rule fails to provide a credible rationale as to why another set of regulations are needed."
 
Read the full article at U.S. News & World Report.