On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the first-ever national air pollution regulations for fracking, a process used in oil and natural gas drilling. The regulations, first proposed in July 2011, have been welcomed by environmental groups as a necessary step in reducing pollution and protecting public health from the toxic chemicals involved in the process. However, many have cautioned that this is only the beginning.
“It sets a floor for what the industry needs to do,” said Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. “The reality is we can do far better.”
The potential harm of fracking to the environment and human health has been increasingly revealed in recent years, particularly in regards to the risk of groundwater contamination. In addition, the process can release cancer-causing chemicals like benzene and greenhouse gases like methane into the air. The EPA’s new rules address this single issue, but do not resolve the other problems associated with fracking and natural gas.
The agency has also rejected an industry request to exempt some wells with low emissions of toxic compounds, but has given drilling companies more time to comply. The final version of the regulations provides a two-and-a-half-year transition period, rather than the 60 days in the original proposal, giving companies until 2015 to comply with the strictest regulations. The industry’s reaction to the rules has been mixed.
The American Petroleum Institute, the largest oil industry trade group, is currently reviewing the new rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The group expressed satisfaction with the changes from the original proposal, which will allow companies to “continue reducing emissions while producing the oil and natural gas our country needs.” However, another industry group has criticized the rules as being too strict and suggested that they could “make exploring in new areas cost-prohibitive.”
The EPA’s new rule targets one large source of air pollution: the burst of gas released during the first few days after a well is first tapped but before production begins. Companies must now use “green completions,” a technology that captures the released gas and fumes in tanks and transports them via pipelines to be sold as fuel. The Natural Resources Defense Council has provided a comprehensive breakdown of the process.
Many drilling companies have already adopted green-completion systems, and some have reported that the system does not cost more than venting the gas into the atmosphere. The EPA estimates that companies could make up to $19 million a year by selling the captured gas. According to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, the updated standards “will not only protect our health, but also lead to more product for fuel suppliers to bring to market.”
For the next two and a half years, companies are allowed to either trap the gas or “flare” the excess gas, which reduces air toxins but is wasteful as the gas cannot be resold. Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund has noted that the EPA rules provide companies with an incentive to adopt the green-completion technology instead of flaring.
