In Pennsylvania, Proposed Regulation to Require Public Disclosure of Chemicals Used in Hydraulic Fracturing
This post was written by Nicolle Snyder Bagnell and Ariel Nieland.
During a Marcellus Shale public forum meeting held last week near Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposed a new regulation to be added to the most recent draft of proposed legislation regulating well construction. Under the proposed regulation, gas drilling companies would have to provide information about chemical usage on a well-by-well basis. This new proposal would require each company, upon completion of well construction, to disclose in a report a list containing all the names and total volume of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. The new proposal will be presented at a Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board meeting for discussion on May 19, 2010. Scott Perry, director of DEP's Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, explained that this proposed regulation was drafted in response to a growing desire by the public for increased transparency with respect to well site development.
