Starting Feb 1, Texas frackers must come clean about chemical, water use

[wtmusic]

"Starting Feb. 1, drilling operators in Texas will have to report many of the chemicals used in the process known as hydraulic fracturing. Environmentalists and landowners are looking forward to learning what acids, hydroxides and other materials have gone into a given well.

But a less-publicized part of the new regulation is what some experts are most interested in: the mandatory disclosure of the amount of water needed to “frack” each well. Experts call this an invaluable tool as they evaluate how fracking affects water supplies in the drought-prone state.

Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into underground shale formations at enormous pressure to extract oil and natural gas. Under the new rule, Texans will be able to check a Web site, fracfocus.org, to view the chemical and water disclosures. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/us/new-texas-rule-to-unlock-secrets-of-hydraulic-fracturing.html?_r=1

[asjr]

1. By waiting until February does

this mean the hooligans will have time to get out of town and the country?

[leftyohiolib]

2. it will turn out to an alphabet soup of all types of industrial waste that comapanies have to PAY

to dispose of (not to mention epa regs that would have to be dealt with). instead of disposing of it properly they mix it into proprietary fraking compound, rocket fire it into the earth and be done with it. no muss no fuss.

[txlibdem]

3. Am I mistaken that Texas is leading the nation with this "truth in fracking" rule?

That may be a signal that my fellow Texans are fed up with the lies and the excuses from the frackers and the Natural Gas industry.

One fracking well has caused 11 earthquakes this year. The sooner we end our use of fossil fuels the better off we'll all be.

[wtmusic]

4. Yes, although CO is close behind (April)

More than anything IMO the debate in Texas has been driven by water use. Per the article, in LaSalle county 40% of the available freshwater goes to fracking, and now you have two huge industries (agriculture/oil) and consumers vying for a scarce resource.

[applegrove]

5. I'm dying to find out what are the 'chemicals'. Krugman implied at least one of them was

radioactive.