fracking

Proposed federal fracking rules released

Irina Zhorov — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:13:47 +0000

The U-S Department of Interior released an updated draft proposal of fracking rules for federal and tribal lands on Thursday. The rule-making process started in 2010, and the latest draft incorporates feedback from more than 177-thousand public comments submitted.

Wyoming Congressional delegation opposes legislation that would reveal fracking chemicals

Bob Beck — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:59:49 +0000

Congress is looking legislation that would require the oil and gas industry to disclose what chemicals are used in hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”

The bill, called the FRAC Act, is opposed by Wyoming lawmakers who say such regulations should be left up to the states. Companies say fracking chemicals need to remain under-wraps because the mixtures they use are trade secrets.

Brad Powell with Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development says the legislation would set minimum baseline standards for impacts on water.

Energy group says fracking water report is sensational

Irina Zhorov — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:16:01 +0000

An energy group says a recently released report overstated issues of water use by the oil and gas industry. The Western Organization of Resource Councils released the report last month and said regulators need to consider the quantity of water the energy industry uses, in addition to the quality.

Group says fracking could harm parks

Willow Belden — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:10:53 +0000

An advocacy group is warning that fracking could cause air pollution and other problems in national parks.

Sharon Mader with the National Parks Conservation Association says they’re concerned that ozone from gas development in Sublette County could spread to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. She says that hasn’t happened yet, but they’re worried about the future.

Report says states need to better monitor water usage by the oil and gas industry

Irina Zhorov — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:38:47 +0000

A report by the Western Organization of Resource Councils says the oil and gas industry is using at least seven billion gallons of water per year in just four states: Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. The report says after industry is done with that water, it turns into a hazardous material, and in some cases cannot be reused for other purposes.

Powder River Basin Resource Council member Robert LeResche says he’s also worried about states’ lack of regulations regarding the quantity of water used.

'Gasland 2,' a documentary about fracking issues, premiers this weekend

Irina Zhorov — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:40:35 +0000

‘Gasland 2’, a sequel to the 2010 documentary ‘Gasland,’ premiers this weekend in New York City. The original film focused on land owners alleging that oil and gas development on their land contaminated their water sources. The movie is thought to have brought the terms ‘fracking’ into the mainstream. The films’ director, Josh Fox, says the sequel investigates how government and regulatory agencies have dealt with what affected land owners say is contamination by industry.

Fracking chemical disclosure decision appealed to WY Supreme Court

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 23:32:10 +0000

Public interest groups that lost a suit about disclosing fracking chemicals are appealing that decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court. Groups like Earthjustice and the Powder River Basin Resource Council argue that the separate chemicals used in the fracking process should be public information under the Wyoming Public Records Act. A Wyoming District court Judge sided in March with the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as well as industry when it ruled that not disclosing chemical identities when they are deemed a trade secret is permissible.

UW’s School of Energy Resources working to forge research relationship with Saudi Arabia

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:17:30 +0000

The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources is working to forge a relationship with Saudi Arabia’s national oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco, and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Saudi Aramco is the biggest oil and gas company in the world and invests heavily in research and development. SER Director, Mark Northam, just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia. He says Wyoming and Saudi Arabia face similar challenges when it comes to unconventional reservoirs and water shortages, and he says they would both benefit by sharing their resources.

Study shows more are in favor of Fracking than opposed

Willow Belden — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:07:35 +0000

A survey by the Pew Research Center shows that more Americans are in favor of fracking than are opposed to it. Forty-eight percent of respondents said they’d like to see an increased use of fracking, while 38 percent said they wouldn’t.

The Pew Center’s Leah Christian says opinions varied by region, but that could be because of prevailing political views in different parts of the country.

“The two regions where we saw the most support – the Midwest and the South – for fracking, those are also more Republican regions of the country,” Christian said.

Judge rules against making fracking ingredients public

Associated Press — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:16:16 +0000

A judge in Casper has sided with the state of Wyoming and ruled against environmentalists who sought to make public the lists of ingredients that go into hydraulic fracturing fluids.

Environmental groups had requested the ingredient lists from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, arguing that the public needs to know what chemicals companies are putting underground.

Energy industry develops nontoxic fracking fluids

The Associated Press — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:34:26 +0000

The oil and gas industry is trying to ease environmental concerns by developing nontoxic fluids for hydraulic fracturing.

But it's not clear whether the fluids will be widely embraced by drilling companies.

Fracking has made it possible to tap into energy reserves across the nation but also has raised concerns about pollution, since large volumes of water along with sand and hazardous chemicals are injected underground to free the oil and gas from rock.

Court hears case on disclosure of secret fracking chemicals

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:21:52 +0000

Several environmental groups went to district court today in Casper to argue that the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission must disclose information about chemicals being used in hydraulic fracturing around the state. Wyoming was the first state to require companies to disclose such information, yet since that law went into effect, the Oil and Gas Commission has granted almost all secrecy requests from companies claiming that some of the chemicals are proprietary information.

Environmental group calls for groundwater protection measures

Willow Belden — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:57:00 +0000

The Powder River Basin Resource Council has drawn up a list of recommendations to protect groundwater resources during energy production.

The group’s Jill Morrison says they want the state to document how much water is available in aquifers, and to limit how much water can be used for oil and gas production in certain areas where water resources are scarce.

“Because we know, for example, in the Powder River Basin, we’ve really drawn down our main aquifer that supplies domestic use … through the coalbed methane development,” Morrison said.

At packed public forum, Chesapeake says Converse County is core drilling territory

Willow Belden — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:37:51 +0000

Chesapeake Energy told a crowd of nearly 200 people that Converse County will continue to be a hot spot for oil production. The discussion was part of a public meeting last night in Douglas.

Chesapeake did not say how much oil production will actually occur in the area, but company officials and state regulators tried to allay concerns about the risks associated with flaring and fracking.

Chesapeake’s Sandy Andrew said the ingredients in frack fluid are largely benign.

Governor Mead will let science and testing guide them on Pavillion

Bob Beck — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:57:46 +0000

Last week, the U-S Geological Survey released testing it did on water wells near the town of Pavillion.

Governor Matt Mead says the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is still reviewing the data and he’s not prepared to comment until he reads their analysis. The Environmental Protection Agency did follow-up testing as well and should release those results soon.

USGS releases raw data, but no analysis, about Pavillion groundwater

Willow Belden — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:28:03 +0000

The U.S. Geological Survey has released new data about groundwater testing near Pavillion. The testing was meant to provide additional information about whether hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, caused water contamination there.

Keith Guille with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality says no one quite knows what the results mean yet, because the USGS only provided raw numbers, not analysis.

Workers inhale dangerous amounts of fracking dust, study finds

Willow Belden — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:24:44 +0000

A study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety found that workers involved with hydraulic fracturing are often exposed to dangerously high levels of silica.

Silica sand is used in fracking fluid, and breathing dust from the material can cause lung diseases and cancer.

The sites that were monitored for the study were all outside Wyoming, but John Robitaille with the Petroleum Association of Wyoming says companies here still need to take the matter seriously.

Proposed Federal Fracking Rules Delayed

Madison Williams — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:13:52 +0000

The Department of Interior has authorized a 60 day extension of the comment period for the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations, following concerns from the oil and gas industry. The rules would call for companies that use fracking to disclose the chemicals they use, and address waste water and drilling issues.

Governor Mead is opposing federal fracking rules

Bob Beck — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:14:33 +0000

Governor Matt Mead is asking the Department of Interior to give the state 90 days of additional time to respond to new federal hydraulic fracturing rules.

The governor is concerned that the rules, when combined with existing state rules, will drive up costs for the oil and gas industry. He says Wyoming wants more time to study impacts to the state.

Pavillion residents share mixed feelings about cistern solution to contaminated wells

Rebecca Martinez — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:26:57 +0000

Wyoming plans to install water cisterns at the homes of residents in the Pavillion area’s natural gas field. An EPA draft report suggests contaminants in area wells are connected to hydraulic fracturing, but state officials say the cause of the contamination is unknown.

Pavillion residents feel betrayed by EPA report delay

Rebecca Martinez — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:56:52 +0000

A group of Pavillion residents says Wyoming officials betrayed them by delaying the release of information tentatively connecting hydraulic fracturing with groundwater pollution in the area.

An Associated Press investigation shows that Gov. Matt Mead convinced the Environmental Protection Agency to delay its draft report on the contamination by a full month. Mead and other state officials used the extra time to try and debunk the findings before they could harm the oil and gas industries.

Mead troubled by proposed fracking rules

Tristan Ahtone — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:48:31 +0000

On Friday, the Bureau of Land Management released new proposals to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public and tribal lands.

Proponents have seen the rules as base-line protection for residents in all states, opponents see them as redundant and bad for business.

Governor Mead says he’s troubled by the rules because Wyoming’s Fracking standards are already more stringent than what the federal government is proposing.

Western state officials say feds shouldn't regulate drilling

Associated Press — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:37:59 +0000

Western state officials took turns bashing the
federal government at a congressional field hearing on proposed
nationwide drilling rules on hydraulic fracturing.
But Democrats on the panel Wednesday, along with some Colorado
environmental activists, insisted that health concerns around the
drilling procedure known as fracking mean there is a need for
common health and safety standards.
Officials from Colorado, Wyoming and Utah testified before the

Review blames fracking for water contamination in Pavillion

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:53:30 +0000

A new independent review of the E-P-A study on hydraulic fracturing in Pavillion confirms the link between water contamination and fracking. The review was requested by a conglomerate of environmental groups.

One of the criticisms of the E-P-A study was that it was poorly conducted science, and therefore, put forth unreliable conclusions. But the hydrologic consultant who did the review, Tom Myers, says the E-P-A did goodwork.

EPA Announces Air Pollution Regulations For Hydraulic Fracking

Irina Zhorov — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:41:54 +0000

This morning, the Environmental Protection Agency released federal standards under the Clean Air Act that will control air pollution from hydraulically fractured natural gas and oil wells.

This is the first set of federal standards to control air pollution from fracking.

The regulations aim to decrease air pollution caused by volatile organic compounds and other chemicals… and will also reduce the amount of methane, which is a greenhouse gas, released into the air.

Conservation Groups Ask Court To Release Fracking Chemical Secrets

Bob Beck — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:53:55 +0000

A Wyoming court is being asked to rule that the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has been too liberal in giving industry the opportunity to withhold what chemicals are involved in fracking. Laura Veaton of Earth Justice says that of the 52 requests to withhold trade secrets, 50 have been granted. Veaton says some were granted even though some companies did not comply with state requirements.

Federal, State, And Tribal Officials Push Back Final Report On Pavillion

Tristan Ahtone — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:10:57 +0000

State, tribal and federal officials have agreed to work collaboratively in Pavillion to do further sampling and collect more data in their water monitoring wells. The move is expected to push back a final report on a possible link between water contamination and hydraulic fracturing in the area until later this year.

Governor Mead Pledges Support For Impacted Water Users In Pavillion

Tristan Ahtone — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:45:50 +0000

At a meeting with Pavillion residents this morning, Governor Mead said he wants to continue providing people with safe water.

Pavillion is at the center of an EPA investigation about whether hydraulic fracturing has contaminated the town’s drinking water supply. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease recommended that residents refrain from drinking the water AND shower with their windows open, and as a result, area oil and gas producer EnCana, and the state of Wyoming, are now paying to have bottled water delivered to residents.

Tribes seek greater role in Pavillion investigation

Tristan Ahtone — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:55:48 +0000

In the wake of a congressional hearing over a draft report by the Environmental Protection Agency that links hydraulic fracturing with water contamination in the town of Pavillion, the Wind River Tribes are pushing to take a bigger role in the investigation.

Pavillion Residents Urge Support For EPA Ahead Of Subcommittee Hearing

Tristan Ahtone — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:50:15 +0000

Tomorrow, the U-S House of Representatives’ Energy and Environment Subcommittee will hear about the Environmental Protection Agency’s ongoing investigation of groundwater contamination in the town of Pavillion. However, Pavillion residents say they were not invited to testify.

In December the EPA released a draft report on its three-year water contamination investigation. It indicated that ground water in Pavillion’s aquifer contains compounds that are “likely associated with gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing.”