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A Department of Energy Subcommittee requested by the President on hydraulic fracturing released its interim report yesterday. The report focused on the regulation of US shale gas production. Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” extracts gas and oil from deep in the earth through the use of pressurized water in combination with potentially toxic chemicals. Although it is speculated that the chemicals that the oil and gas industry use can have a negative effect on drinking water and the environment, it is outside the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report released by the Shale Gas Subcommittee under the Department of Energy Advisory Board appointed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, admitted that fracking seriously impacts the environment. Among the most important recommendations of the committee was full public disclosure of toxins released in the fracking process, the establishing of no-drill zones, and a complete examination of its impact on climate. The EPA is also writing a report on the way regulation should be handled in the industry. Some fear that the DOE report will overshadow the unreleased EPA report which, unlike the DOE subcommittee, is not influenced by a “financial conflict of interest.” A letter signed by a number of prominent scientists and academics to Energy Secretary Chu objected to the fact that a majority of the subcommittee members had connections to the oil and gas industry, including former CIA director John Deutch who is on the boards of a number of energy companies. Responding to the DOE recommendation that the gas industry police itself, Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water watch counters “that [the] industry has gone to great lengths to influence local governments, and even greater lengths to avoid culpability at a national level.” The process of hydraulic fracturing has been practiced for some time in areas like Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. In California, Assembly Bill 591, which passed the Assembly and is currently pending in the Senate, would force companies to disclose basic information about their fracking practices. AB 591 would require oil and gas companies drilling in California to inform the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources – the state’s regulatory apparatus- to disclose information about the chemicals that they are using and their source of water – something they are not currently required to do so by the state. The state agency would have to post this information on their website, instead of the industry sponsored website “FracFocus.”

GUESTS: Dusty Horwitt, senior counsel for the Environmental Working Group, Lauren Pagel, policy director at Earthworks

Find out more at www.ewg.org and www.earthworksaction.org.