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Reps. DeGette, Salazar target fracing fluids
Duo introduces bill to remove water exemption
Herald Denver Bureau
Democrats Diana DeGette of Denver and John Salazar of Manassa introduced a bill late last month to remove the Safe Drinking Water Act exemption for hydraulic fracturing fluids. Congress passed the exemption in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
Hydrofracing fluids have come under increased scrutiny recently. A Durango nurse fell gravely ill after treating a worker who cleaned up a small frac- fluid spill south of Bayfield. And U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman has held hearings on the topic in his Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
"I believe in the responsible development of our natural gas resources," Salazar said in a news release. "However, the exemption for hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Water Drinking Act simply goes too far. Water is our most precious resource in the West, and we must ensure it is protected from any possible contamination."
Salazar voted for the 2005 Energy Policy Act, a bill that covered everything from gas and oil to wind power.
Congress has adjourned for the year, although it's possible it could return for a lame-duck session after the election. While the bill is unlikely to pass this year, the sponsors introduced it to prepare their colleagues for another bill next year, said Salazar's spokesman, Eric Wortman.
Frac fluids - a mix of chemicals and sand - are injected into rock formations to open fissures and let gas flow more freely.
Without frac fluids, "many, many wells in the West couldn't produce the energy we so desperately need," said Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.
He called the bill "ready, fire, aim legislation."
The bill, a mere 55 words long, would give the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate frac fluids. Smith isn't sure exactly what that would mean for his industry.
"My sense is that it would create a new regulatory bureaucracy, a new set of rules," he said.
Hydrofracing will be crucial to unlocking shale gas, the next big thing in the gas industry. Companies are looking at promising shale gas deposits across the country, including Montezuma County.
DeGette, the prime sponsor, is aware of the Durango nurse's illness, and the incident was part of the reason she introduced the bill, said her district director, Chris Arend. However, DeGette has tried since 2005 to get frac fluids included in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Arend said.
The bill number is H.R. 7231.
jhanel@durangoherald.com
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