Hydraulic fracturing and the EPA

The New York Times had an article yesterday about a letter written by Congressman Henry Waxman in which he contends that the injection by certain natural gas completion contractors of diesel fluids as part of the hydraulic fracturing of wells was illegal. This is completely incorrect.

In a 2005 amendment to the safe water drinking act, Congress made clear that the EPA was not to regulate the injection of fluids into the ground as part of hydraulic fracturing with the exception of diesel fluids. So, in general, the EPA has little jurisdiction over the entire issue of hydraulic fracturing. Even the exception for diesel fluids, however, does not give the EPA any jurisdiction here. The law provides that primary regulation of all fluid injection into the ground is done by the states. the EPA has the jurisdiction to approve the regulatory structure put into place by the states to make sure that these regulations comply with the safe water drinking act and other federal requirements, but the EPA cannot enact its own regulations that would bar diesel injections into the ground as part of facturing. Only the various states could do this, and they have not taken that step.

So what does this all mean? Basically, the reporter at the New York Times did not bother to actually look at the statute, but instead took the word of Henry Waxman, a man who is notoriously against essentially any domestic energy production. To Waxman, anything done by the oil and gas industry is an environmental threat. So when Waxman labels the injection of diesel as illegal, the NY Times goes right along and solemnly announces this "fact" to its readers.