Industry, critics lobby state regulators on rules for oil and gas, including fracking

Industry, critics lobby state on fracking rules

CASPER, Wyo. — State regulators are trying to balance industry concerns and fend off federal regulation as they consider changes to rules and regulations for oil and gas development, said Thomas Doll, the state oil and gas supervisor.

Doll held a public discussion on the proposed rules Tuesday and plans a public hearing April 14 before the proposed changes go before the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission next month.

One of the more contentious issues is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process, which is widely used in Wyoming, involves pumping pressurized water, sand and chemicals underground to split rock and improve the flow of oil and gas.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it will conduct a “comprehensive research study to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health.”

The commission is considering several detailed rules for fracking, including requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use in fracking fluids.

Companies guard their fracking formulas as proprietary information and say the process has proved to be environmentally safe. Critics say the state doesn’t require enough information from companies to determine whether fracking is problematic.

Doll said Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal is trying to satisfy concerns over fracking at the state level. Doll said the agency is under direction from the governor, who chairs the Oil and Gas Commission, to gather a comprehensive list of chemicals used in the process so the state can fend off the EPA and other critics.

“It’s the direction we were given, and as long as he’s my boss that’s the direction we’re headed,” Doll said. “The bottom line is we don’t have the detail that the governor feels we need to have in the files to prove to EPA we are protecting groundwater in the state.”

Information from: Casper Star-Tribune - Casper, www.trib.com