Ark. oil and gas panel votes to require drillers to disclose ingredients of fracking fluids
By Associated Press
7:40 p.m. CST, December 7, 2010
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission has voted to require gas-well drillers to reveal all the chemicals they use to break up underground rock formations in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that is intended to free up natural gas.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the commission voted Tuesday to join Wyoming as the only two states requiring full disclosure of chemicals and fluids used in natural gas wells. The rule is to take effect Jan. 15.
Concerns have been raised about possible groundwater contamination from the fracking fluids. Some drilling companies have been reluctant to release the information about chemicals used in the fracking process, calling it proprietary information. But as the federal government has taken an interest in the issue, that is starting to change.
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This is certainly progress, isn't it? Industry's defense to not releasing has been consistent in stating that neither Coca-Cola nor The Colonel give out their 'secret' recipes, which is true. What Coke, The Colonel and all other makers of food and beverage items are doing is putting the INGREDIENTS right on the label. We're not asking for your precious top-secret proprietary formula, we're demanding to know what the frack you're pumping into and back up ouf our aquifers.
This is good news from Arkansas. In Tx nothing like this will happen as long as the RRC is in kahoots with O&G.
We just learned Friday that it hasn't been voted on yet and Halliburton is still inserting loopholes. Most evident is a "proprietary chemical" clause which lets them hold whatever they want as secrets and a clause that enables the rule sometime in mid January with all wells permitted to that time exempt.
This is smoke and mirrors so they can say they are doing something, without actually doing anything at all.
What bugs me is the amount of publicity its received as if it was actually voted on.