The US Interior Department has proposed new draft rules for hydraulic fracturing operations on public and Indian lands in order to address concerns related to groundwater pollution.
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The rules would require companies to publicly disclose the chemicals used in the fracturing process on federal and Indian lands, with appropriate protections for proprietary information.
Interior Department secretary Ken Salazar said, "As we continue to offer millions of acres of America’s public lands for oil and gas development, it is critical that the public have full confidence that the right safety and environmental protections are in place."
The proposed rule would apply to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed mineral estate, including 700 million subsurface acres of federal estate and 56 million subsurface acres of Indian mineral estate.
The US Interior Department noted the existing BLM regulations governing hydraulic fracturing operations on public lands were more than 30 years old and did not address modern hydraulic fracturing activities.
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By GlobalDataThe new draft rules require improving assurances on well-bore integrity, and calling companies to test that fluids used in wells during fracturing operations are not escaping through any leaks.
New guidelines also propose that oil and gas operators should draft a water management plan in a bid to manage fracturing fluids that flow back to the surface after the completion of the fracturing process.
A two-month public comment period will now begin before the proposed rules are finalised.
Image: The US Interior Department has proposed new draft rules for hydraulic fracturing operations on public and Indian lands. Photo: Matthew Bisanz.
