CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

As oil and gas drilling explodes nationwide, the Obama administration today proposed rules requiring the disclosure of chemicals used to extract these deposits on public and Indian lands. Environmentalists say the rules don't go far enough but an industry group says they may stifle job growth with "bureaucratic red tape."

The proposed rules require companies to disclose the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, but do so after (not before) they finish operations. About 90% of wells drilled on federal and Indian lands use this drilling process, which blasts chemical-laced water and sand deep below ground to release oil and natural gas trapped in rock formations.

Fracking has dramatically boosted the development of previously uneconomic natural gas and oil deposits, but critics say it can pollute the water and air. In his State of the Union address in January and subsequent speeches, President Obama has promised to promote domestic energy production while protecting the environment.

"As the President has made clear, this administration's energy strategy is an all-out effort to boost American production of every available source of energy," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the draft rules on fracking. "As we continue to offer millions of acres of America's public lands for oil and gas development, it is critical that the public have full confidence that the right safety and environmental protections are in place."

Fracking has dramatically boosted the development of previously uneconomic natural gas and oil deposits, but critics say it can pollute the water and air. In his State of the Union address in January and subsequent speeches, President Obama has promised to promote domestic energy production while protecting the environment. "As the President has made clear, this administration's energy strategy is an all-out effort to boost American production of every available source of energy," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the draft rules on fracking. "As we continue to offer millions of acres of America's public lands for oil and gas development, it is critical that the public have full confidence that the right safety and environmental protections are in place."

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