Congressional committee: diesel use in hydraulic fracturing may violate Clean Water Act

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17251996

Congressional committee: diesel use in hydraulic fracturing may violate Clean Water Act

By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/31/2011 02:39:52 PM MST
Updated: 01/31/2011 02:47:39 PM MST

WASHINGTON — Three of the largest hydraulic fracturing companies may have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act when using diesel fuel — more than 1.3 million gallons in Colorado — to extract oil and gas from state lands, a U.S. House of Representatives committee alleged today after a year-long investigation.

The use of diesel fuel during so-called "fracking" — the process to get oil and gas from deep inside the earth — is not itself illegal.

But what worries the Environmental Protection Agency and senior Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee is how close the diesel fuel gets to drinking water supplies.

…

The 11-page letter that went to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on Monday, signed by DeGette and Rep. Henry Waxman of California, leaves the open the question on whether drinking water in Colorado and 18 other states are affected by this practice.

…

http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Jackson.EPADieselFracking.2011.1.31.pdf

…

In 2003, EPA signed a memorandum of agreement with the three largest providers of hydraulic fracturing to eliminate the use of diesel fuel in coalbed methane formations in underground sources of drinking water. Two years later, Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act except when the fracturing fluids contain diesel. As a result, many assumed that the industry stopped using diesel fuel altogether in hydraulic fracturing.

Our investigation has found that this is not the case, Between 2005 and 2009, oil and gas service companies injected 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel in wells in 19 states. Halliburton injected more than 7 million gallons of diesel fuel or fluids containing diesel; BJ Services injected even more, 11.5 million gallons.

According to EPA, any company that performs hydraulic fracturing using diesel fuel must receive a permit under the Safe Drinking Water Act. We learned that no oil and gas service companies have sought-and no state and federal regulators have issued-permits for diesel fuel use in hydraulic fracturing. This appears to be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. It also means that the companies injecting diesel fuel have not performed the environmental reviews required by the law.

…

[damntexdem]

1. This has been an issue for some time, especially here in North Texas.

Fracking is undertaken inside cities in the DFW area, and there has been much concern about ground-water pollution.

[madokie]

2. So the sunsabeeches

are polluting our water supplies on purpose so they can tap into the large south American aquifer and start selling us water at unheard of prices so they can clean up money wise. Halliburton is behind this means that cheney/bfee and the large swath of land the bushes supposedly bought in Paraguay is likely true

Paraguay’s Acuifero Guarani is the largest fresh water aquifer in South America and is located under 4 entire countries.

Talk about killing two birds with one stone, make a killing on the natural gas and then when all our fresh water is polluted with diesel and no telling what else they're using in this fracking to where we can't drink it anymore then start selling us previously unheard of high price water.

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=paraguay+aquifer+bush&aq=1sx&aqi=g-sx2g-msx1g-o1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=d9008d84f286047

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=fracking&cp=8&pf=p&sclient=psy&site=&source=hp&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=fracking&pbx=1&fp=d9008d84f286047

[Nihil]

3. Better still ...

... they are buying diesel fuel purely to pump it into the ground (=100% waste
of refining & transportation energy) in order to extract natural gas!

Figure that into the "natural gas is green & clean" arguments that the defenders
like to promote!

:crazy:

[madokie]

4. Why do they have to use diesel?

looks like water would do as well. I worked for a while years ago in a foundry where after a few oil fires they started using water as the working fluid in the hydraulic systems. They didn't seem to have any problems with the water as the working fluid either as the pumps and cylinders didn't know the difference. I personally think this is a sinister plot to do as I suggested earlier, all to contaminate our clean water so a few sorry bastids can make a ton of money. The bastids should be rounded up and thrown in the fucking jail because of crimes against nature.

[Glassunion]

5. Frack those fracking frackers in their frack holes...

Pass the fracking frack act allfracking ready...

I love living on the Marcellus Shale. Where yes indeed your water well could very well explode...
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/nearly-a-year-after-a-water-well-explosion-dimock-twp-residents-thirst-for-gas-well-fix-1.365743#axzz1Ck38NlOm

Nothing to see here... Move along...
http://www.fractracker.org/2010/07/gas-well-explosion-indiana-township-pa.html
http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/finally-cabots-reply-to-dimock
http://www.timesleader.com/news/hottopics/shale
http://www.wtae.com/r/23818127/detail.html