WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse welcomed new federal guidelines that oil and gas companies using hydraulic fracturing processes on public lands be required to disclose the chemicals they use and to meet more stringent requirements to ensure well integrity and safer storage of waste fluids that could contaminate groundwater.

“Fracking” is shorthand for high-pressure, high-volume horizontal fracturing, and involves a process that injects large quantities of pressurized fluids, gases, sand, and chemicals into the ground in order to extract natural gas and oil trapped in shale formations.

Today, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced new rules to provide more comprehensive, consistent oversight for oil and gas produced using fracking methods on public lands while reducing duplicative reporting requirements for drilling in states that already regulate the process and enabling states to develop more protective standards.

Earlier this week, Reed and Whitehouse joined with U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) in reintroducing the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act, which would increase environmental protections for communities where natural gas drilling takes place.  Specifically the bill would require drillers to disclose the chemicals that go into the ground during the hydraulic fracturing process and close a 2005 loophole that prevents the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from conducting rigorous oversight of hydraulic fracturing which occurs during natural gas drilling.

“We need smart, safe energy solutions.  It is in everyone's interest to ensure the process for extracting natural gas is done safely, responsibly, and with adequate environmental protections.  These commonsense rules and improved disclosures will help inform the public about what is being pumped into and out of their communities.  The economic benefits of fracking must not come at the expense of public health and the environment.  We must close loopholes and ensure fracking operators are held accountable, just like other industries,” said Senator Reed.

“These rules represent a good first step toward protecting communities from the risks of fracking,” said Senator Whitehouse.  “The American people have the right to know which chemicals could be finding their way into our water supply, and to be assured that consistent safety requirements are in place to protect their health and property.”

The FRAC Act will require that the natural gas industry provide complete disclosure of the chemical composition of hydraulic fracturing materials prior to and after hydraulic fracturing.  This information will then be made public on a website. Disclosure will ensure that if drinking water supplies, surface waters, or human health are compromised, the public and first responders will be properly informed. Further, the FRAC Act will require that hydraulic fracturing be once again included under the Safe Drinking Water Act, simply ensuring that a consistent set of requirements will be applied to the development of our resources.

 -end-