Fracking Operators Illegally Injecting Diesel Fuel, Study Finds
“The public deserves more disclosure and transparency about the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing,” attorney says.
Fracking companies have continued to illegally inject diesel fuel into the ground over the last four years, despite repeated denials by the drilling industry, according to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released Wednesday.
EIP's report, "Fracking Beyond the Law," uses self-reported data from drilling companies and federal records to document at least 33 companies fracking at least 351 wells across 12 states with fluids containing diesel from 2010 through early August 2014. Diesel fuels were used to frack wells in Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Montana without required Safe Drinking Water Act permits.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconfirmed as recently as February of this year that drilling operators are prohibited from from injecting diesel fuels into oil and gas wells unless authorized by such a permit. In fact, the controversial Energy Policy Act of 2005 -- also known as the "Halliburton Loophole" because it was championed by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of Halliburton-- exempted fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act except when diesel fuel is used.
"We thought this problem was a thing of the past," EIP senior attorney Mary Greene said in a teleconference. "That's what we've been told by industry for the last decade."
The report also found that companies like Halliburton are still supplying companies with diesel -- a potential threat to drinking water supplies and public health because diesel contains toxic chemicals, such as benzene, that cause cancer or other serious health problems, even at low doses -- and that the privately-run fracking chemical disclosure registry FracFocus does little to actually protect the public, allowing operators to change or replace previous disclosures, at any time, without leaving any record of or justification for the change.
In addition, "nearly 80 percent of the total volume of fluid injected across all 351 wells identified in this report was marked either as trade secret, confidential business information, proprietary information, or with a non-identifying notation, and was therefore not disclosed or the contents were ambiguously described," the report reads.
This is a problem, it continues, because:
Without access to trade secret information, or the chemical composition of contaminated water used as base fluid (known as "flowback" or "produced water"), there is no way for the public or regulators to quantify, monitor, or curtail the unpermitted injection of diesel fuels under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
"The public deserves more disclosure and transparency about the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing," Greene said in a statement. "The current reporting system must be improved."
In an email, EPA spokesman George Hull told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that because the Energy Policy Act of 2005 did not define the term "diesel," EPA didn't enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act's permitting provisions for nine years while it sought a "scientifically-supported definition." After receiving more than 97,000 comments and consulting with industry and petroleum experts, it finalized a diesel definition in February, he said.
Industry groups argue that until February, the definition of diesel did not include kerosene, which was used by a majority of the operators identified in EIP's report. The pro-fracking group Energy In Depth likened the EIP report to a situation in which "officials reduced the speed limit, and then accused drivers of speeding because of how fast they drove before the change."
Meanwhile, the LA Times reported earlier this week that energy companies are fracking for oil and gas at far shallower depths than widely believed, sometimes through underground sources of drinking water.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Fracking companies have continued to illegally inject diesel fuel into the ground over the last four years, despite repeated denials by the drilling industry, according to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released Wednesday.
EIP's report, "Fracking Beyond the Law," uses self-reported data from drilling companies and federal records to document at least 33 companies fracking at least 351 wells across 12 states with fluids containing diesel from 2010 through early August 2014. Diesel fuels were used to frack wells in Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Montana without required Safe Drinking Water Act permits.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconfirmed as recently as February of this year that drilling operators are prohibited from from injecting diesel fuels into oil and gas wells unless authorized by such a permit. In fact, the controversial Energy Policy Act of 2005 -- also known as the "Halliburton Loophole" because it was championed by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of Halliburton-- exempted fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act except when diesel fuel is used.
"We thought this problem was a thing of the past," EIP senior attorney Mary Greene said in a teleconference. "That's what we've been told by industry for the last decade."
The report also found that companies like Halliburton are still supplying companies with diesel -- a potential threat to drinking water supplies and public health because diesel contains toxic chemicals, such as benzene, that cause cancer or other serious health problems, even at low doses -- and that the privately-run fracking chemical disclosure registry FracFocus does little to actually protect the public, allowing operators to change or replace previous disclosures, at any time, without leaving any record of or justification for the change.
In addition, "nearly 80 percent of the total volume of fluid injected across all 351 wells identified in this report was marked either as trade secret, confidential business information, proprietary information, or with a non-identifying notation, and was therefore not disclosed or the contents were ambiguously described," the report reads.
This is a problem, it continues, because:
Without access to trade secret information, or the chemical composition of contaminated water used as base fluid (known as "flowback" or "produced water"), there is no way for the public or regulators to quantify, monitor, or curtail the unpermitted injection of diesel fuels under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
"The public deserves more disclosure and transparency about the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing," Greene said in a statement. "The current reporting system must be improved."
In an email, EPA spokesman George Hull told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that because the Energy Policy Act of 2005 did not define the term "diesel," EPA didn't enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act's permitting provisions for nine years while it sought a "scientifically-supported definition." After receiving more than 97,000 comments and consulting with industry and petroleum experts, it finalized a diesel definition in February, he said.
Industry groups argue that until February, the definition of diesel did not include kerosene, which was used by a majority of the operators identified in EIP's report. The pro-fracking group Energy In Depth likened the EIP report to a situation in which "officials reduced the speed limit, and then accused drivers of speeding because of how fast they drove before the change."
Meanwhile, the LA Times reported earlier this week that energy companies are fracking for oil and gas at far shallower depths than widely believed, sometimes through underground sources of drinking water.
Fracking companies have continued to illegally inject diesel fuel into the ground over the last four years, despite repeated denials by the drilling industry, according to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) released Wednesday.
EIP's report, "Fracking Beyond the Law," uses self-reported data from drilling companies and federal records to document at least 33 companies fracking at least 351 wells across 12 states with fluids containing diesel from 2010 through early August 2014. Diesel fuels were used to frack wells in Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Montana without required Safe Drinking Water Act permits.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconfirmed as recently as February of this year that drilling operators are prohibited from from injecting diesel fuels into oil and gas wells unless authorized by such a permit. In fact, the controversial Energy Policy Act of 2005 -- also known as the "Halliburton Loophole" because it was championed by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of Halliburton-- exempted fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act except when diesel fuel is used.
"We thought this problem was a thing of the past," EIP senior attorney Mary Greene said in a teleconference. "That's what we've been told by industry for the last decade."
The report also found that companies like Halliburton are still supplying companies with diesel -- a potential threat to drinking water supplies and public health because diesel contains toxic chemicals, such as benzene, that cause cancer or other serious health problems, even at low doses -- and that the privately-run fracking chemical disclosure registry FracFocus does little to actually protect the public, allowing operators to change or replace previous disclosures, at any time, without leaving any record of or justification for the change.
In addition, "nearly 80 percent of the total volume of fluid injected across all 351 wells identified in this report was marked either as trade secret, confidential business information, proprietary information, or with a non-identifying notation, and was therefore not disclosed or the contents were ambiguously described," the report reads.
This is a problem, it continues, because:
Without access to trade secret information, or the chemical composition of contaminated water used as base fluid (known as "flowback" or "produced water"), there is no way for the public or regulators to quantify, monitor, or curtail the unpermitted injection of diesel fuels under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
"The public deserves more disclosure and transparency about the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing," Greene said in a statement. "The current reporting system must be improved."
In an email, EPA spokesman George Hull told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that because the Energy Policy Act of 2005 did not define the term "diesel," EPA didn't enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act's permitting provisions for nine years while it sought a "scientifically-supported definition." After receiving more than 97,000 comments and consulting with industry and petroleum experts, it finalized a diesel definition in February, he said.
Industry groups argue that until February, the definition of diesel did not include kerosene, which was used by a majority of the operators identified in EIP's report. The pro-fracking group Energy In Depth likened the EIP report to a situation in which "officials reduced the speed limit, and then accused drivers of speeding because of how fast they drove before the change."
Meanwhile, the LA Times reported earlier this week that energy companies are fracking for oil and gas at far shallower depths than widely believed, sometimes through underground sources of drinking water.