House Dems press Interior to toughen gas ‘fracking’ rule

More than three dozen House Democrats want the Interior Department to require natural-gas producers using the method called hydraulic fracturing to disclose the chemicals they’re injecting underground before they begin the process.

The lawmakers, in a letter, are upset that rules proposed in May to govern “fracking” on federal lands only require the disclosure after the fact.

“Before hydraulic fracturing operations begin, the public has a right to know what types of chemicals might be going into the ground near their communities, as well as what chemicals will be stored and transported, so that they have the option of conducting baseline water tests and take other precautions to safeguard their surface and ground water supplies,” states the letter from 38 lawmakers, led by Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

The pressure from Democrats underscores the political delicacy of White House energy policies. The Obama administration is seeking to show that it backs oil-and-gas drilling while also emphasizing its efforts to expand environmental safeguards.

Fracking involves high-pressure injections of water, chemicals and sand into rock formations in order to open up seams that enable trapped natural gas and oil to flow.

An Interior official defended the rule, noting the disclosure after the fracking has occurred will still enable investigators to trace the source of contamination if waters are polluted.

“It is just as effective in creating a ... ‘fingerprint’ in case of any type of incident,” the official said. The Interior official said that as the department was crafting the proposal, it became clear that plans to require chemical disclosure ahead of fracking would have created delays in gas drilling, but would not have boosted public confidence.


Fracking is enabling a gas-production boom in many states but bringing concerns about water pollution alongside it, and the increased drilling is also worsening air pollution in some regions.

The proposed rule from Interior's Bureau of Land Management also contains requirements on oil-and-gas well integrity to verify that fluids from the fracking process aren’t escaping into nearby water supplies, and requirements for management of large volumes of so-called flowback water.