Interior Department mulls disclosure of chemicals in drilling
Posted by CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE at 6:58 AMInterior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that he's considering a requirement that natural gas drillers who use a process called hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, must identify the chemicals they inject into the ground when they drill on federal lands.
About 90 percent of federal drilling leases granted over the last decade have involved hydraulic fracturing operations as part of their initial well completion, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Salazar's announcement of a new federal review of the practice came at a forum called by the Interior Department to gather comments from industry groups and environmental advocates.
Current regulations require only that drillers using public lands use "standard prudent operating practice."
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