Fracking Disclosure Rules Approved In CO 279
ExE122 writes "Colorado has approved new measures taking a tough stance on the disclosure of chemicals used in fracking. The new law is 'requiring companies to disclose the concentrations of chemicals in addition to the chemicals themselves.' Fracking is a controversial method of natural gas extraction that raises concerns about health and safety issues to surrounding communities. This measure is said to be tougher than similar measures passed in Texas earlier this year."
For a nice audio visual aid to fracking: (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=timfvNgr_Q4 [youtube.com]
To see what it can do to your water supply:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01EK76Sy4A&feature=player_detailpage [youtube.com]
Re:Secret Sauce (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm pretty sure they aren't fracking with 1000 Island dressing.
Strangely enough, a major component of fraccing fluids is guar, which is also a major component of most salad dressings.
~Loyal
Re:Great! (Score:5, Interesting)
Apparently the greatest concentration of fracking sites in the US (possibly the world) is in south-western Weld County in Colorado. Which is where I live. From my house I can see perhaps a dozen of these drilling sites. It's always seemed bizarre to me that it's even legal to push chemicals into the ground under and around my house -- but apparently it is, because around here very few people own the mineral rights associated with the ground on which their house stands.
But then, it's also illegal for me to capture rainwater, which seems at least equally strange.
What makes you think they even know? (Score:2, Interesting)
They're just shoving anything that will go down the pipe as some form of fluid to build pressure.
Thinking that there's even some magic recipe for forcing cracks in shale is the height is idiocy.
They oil & gas companies are just shoving in their waste products under high pressure and, low and behold, the shale can't take the pressure.
That happens to release some natural gas some times, if they drilled close enough to some gas pockets.
I'm glad I live on granite.
Re:Finally got a handle on the friggin' fracking (Score:5, Interesting)
Soon enough? Fracturing has been done in the United States since 1947.
And if you think today's fracking is anything like what was done in 1947, you have no business in this conversation. Industry misinformation like this is not relevant to the discussion.
The food industry has to do this (Score:2, Interesting)
For a long time, the food industry has had to label their products indicating what exactly they contained. Trade secrets must take second place to public safety.
Why is this not obvious to our legislators?
Re:Great! (Score:3, Interesting)
They're exempt from the normal federal reporting requirements such as those stipulated in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. They are not exempted from state regulations, which is why states are drafting legislation of this type. Typically any entity (person or corporation) has to comply with the regulations of all jurisdictions that apply (city, county, state, and federal for the US).
Now, the company might be able to argue the production of the natural gas is "interstate commerce" and therefore the federal regulations trump the state regulations, but that usually fails in circumstances like this where the company is free to continue their operations as long as they follow the state's disclosure regulations (in other words, the state is in no way restricting the company's operations, merely requiring them to report in more detail exactly what they are doing - and the state is a justifiably interested party in the details of what they are doing).
Re:Great! (Score:3, Interesting)
Guess you missed the movie - try this link:
http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/ [gaslandthemovie.com]
The water tap this movie shows being lit on fire had this phenomenon BEFORE the fracking began. When confronted about this during an interview, the creator of the film refused to discuss it. A water well like this is sometimes called a hissing well is a natural occurance. Enjoy being duped!
Re:Great! (Score:2, Interesting)
Bullshit. In a Libertarian world, I could sue the fuckers for polluting the water table. Now they have license thanks to government regulation and are shielded from liability.
Re:Great! (Score:5, Interesting)
Downstream is a key component. We get rain / melt-off that is used by farmers and cities in other states as well. Water in the west is a precious thing and "ownership" of it is order dependent. Someone owns the first drop of water flowing in the river, and someone else own X gallons / time period only if there's enough left over them after the senior stakeholders are accounted for. Those rights don't care if you are upstream or downstream, but on seniority.
With the possibility of water intensive shale oil extraction, oil companies have been buying senior water rights in Colorado for some time and then leasing them back to farmers / etc. If shale oil happens seriously, and needs the water that's predicted, things could get ugly in a hurry.
The Irony of Fracking Fluids (Score:3, Interesting)
Fracking occur in 2 stages. In the First Stage, a series of pumping trucks are lined up and push a goopy gel into the ground, who's whole purpose is to carry grains of sand deep into the fractures created by the overpressure. The exact composition of this snot-like mixture is considered a trade secret, because of its ability to perform in stage two.
In the Second Stage, a "breaker fluid" is pumped into the well, which is supposed to instantly liquify the goop and allow it to flow out, leaving the sand grains to prop open the cracks. Opinions vary on how well this process works; I worked on the oil company side, so I can tell you, it doesn't always work. Sometimes your well is gummed up with snot, especially if they don't pump the breaker long enough.
Both the propellant and the breaker are trade secret compositions, but both probably have some interesting chemical comps.
The irony here is that an old friend of mine said that after a frack job ruined a very lucrative well, he started insisting that water and sand be the only fluids used in his frack jobs. He said the pumping companies pitched a fit, but he got some of the best, most improved fractures of his career using sand and water.