Alberta to start using FracFocus

Alberta to start using FracFocus by United Press International Inc., December 20, 2012
Residents in Alberta will soon be able to get information about hydraulic fracturing fluid online, the provincial government said. Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board [name changed from the Energy Utilities Board, EUB, after the Board was caught breaking the law and spying on innocent Albertans; soon to be the Alberta Energy Regulator, AER] said it will post information about hydraulic fracturing fluid on the Canadian website for the group FracFocus. The government of British Columbia early this year became the first in Canada to start publishing data on the website, designed to provide information about the chemicals used in a process dubbed fracking. “The enhanced reporting requirements will be effective as of Dec. 31 and will be mandatory for all hydraulic fracturing operations going forward [i.e. chemicals injected in the previously frac’d 171,000 wells in Alberta, including directly into community drinking water supplies, will remain secret],” the ECRB stated. “Albertans will begin to see increasing amounts of information [i.e. not all] on FracFocus by summer of 2013 as data from newly drilled and completed wells is reported under the new reporting rules.” This week, the ERCB said it was looking for comments on a paper drafted to examine ways that could protect water, minimize surface effects and maximize resource recovery in unconventional developments like shale.  [Emphasis added]

Alberta to post hydraulic fracturing information on FracFocus.ca by Dan Healing, December 19, 2012, Calgary Herald
Public disclosure of what chemicals have been used in hydraulic fracturing of wells in Alberta will soon be available on a public website. The regulator, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, announced Wednesday it has decided to follow British Columbia’s lead and will post reports required under Directive 59 on the fracfocus.ca website. “FracFocus was the vehicle we’ve chosen to ensure the information is easily available,” said ERCB spokesman Bob Curran. B.C. energy ministry based the site on FracFocus.org, developed in the United States. Enhanced reporting is required for new Alberta wells as of Dec. 31 but companies have 30 days after the well is fractured to submit and ERCB staff will then have to populate the site, meaning information won’t be visible immediately. Companies are required to report the start and finish dates of operations, fluid system components, the purpose of the components, additive ingredients and the maximum concentrations of each ingredient in the system, said Curran. He added the website will not give prior notification of fracturing…. [Emphasis added]

[Refer also to: Links & Resources Appropriate baseline water testing requirescomplete chemical disclosure before fracing.

FrackingCanada How the West was Lost – this is a large file, wait for it to completely load before scrolling

Natural Gas Operations from a Public Health Perspective by Theo Colborn, Carol Kwiatkowski, Kim Schultz, and Mary Bachran, accepted for publication in the International Journal of Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, September 4, 2010.
For many years, drillers have insisted that they do not use toxic chemicals to drill for gas, only guar gum, mud, and sand. While much attention is being given to chemicals used during fracking, our findings indicate that drilling chemicals can be equally, if not more dangerous. ]

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