Drillers suspicious of EPA’s new frack notification

Drillers suspicious of EPA’s new frack notification by Mike Soraghan, October 9, 2012, E&E News
Oil and gas companies will soon have to start telling U.S. EPA before they “frack” wells, a development that has caught many in the industry off-guard and rekindled some drillers’ most potent fears about federal intrusion. The notification requirement is a little-known aspect of air rules for hydraulic fracturing finalized earlier this year by the agency (Greenwire, April 20). The hard-fought and better-known aspects of the rule don’t kick in until January 2015. But the email notice requirement starts Monday. The confusion has upset some in the drilling industry, where EPA is regarded with great suspicion. “I’ve heard people say it’s the federal government trying to get their hooks into hydraulic fracturing any way they can,” said Gifford Briggs, vice president of the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association. “This shows how important November 6 is.” Nov. 6 is the date of the presidential election. The industry tilts heavily Republican.