Today, EPA confirmed that its Office of Research and Development will investigate hydrofracking again.
I was asked yesterday to be involved in the study design effort, so I'm researching to get up to speed. Here's some of the background material I've unearthed thus far:
EPA conducted a study in 2004 on the impact that hydrofracking coalbed methane (CBM) wells has on underground sources of drinking water (USDW) and found that "the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into CBM wells poses little or no threat to USDWs." That report can be found here. EPA also entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with BJ Services Company, Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., and Schlumberger Technology Corporation regarding the elimination of the use of diesel fuel in hydrofracking fluids. The MOA can be found here.
Recently, there has been interest in using hydrofracking to get to gas buried beneath other types of geology. For example, there is considerable interest in hydrofracking gas wells to crack the the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and southwestern New York State. (Check out the NY Times archive if you're curious.) The NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation released a draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding proposed hydrofracking in the Marcellus on September 30, 2009. EPA submitted comments on the EIS on December 30, 2009.
More to come...
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