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AAPG Statements on:

Position Statement:

Hydraulic Fracturing (PDF)

Issue:

Scientifically designed, state-based environmental oversight of hydraulic fracturing treatments for those coalbed methane and other hydrocarbon wells that may occur near zones of potable water is a reasonable approach.

Background:

Oversight must be based on the recognition that: 1) modern fracturing treatments work to safeguard the environment and present minimal potential damage to fresh-water zones; 2) most hydraulic fracturing takes place in zones removed from drinking-water supplies; and 3) although fracturing fluids vary widely, the commonly used ingredients are limited in toxicity and/or mobility in water.

Statement:

AAPG opposes blanket application of federally mandated controls. Federal legislation should be encouraged to provide for streamlined permitting of fracturing treatments.
Treatments carried out in isolation from fresh-water aquifers should be exempt from Clean Water Act controls.
Permit procedures for fracturing within aquifer zones (mostly undertaken in support of methane production from coal beds) should be designed on a basin-by-basin and state-by-state basis.
Permitting should bear in mind the wide variety of possible designs of fracture treatments, and the geologic relationships of reservoir beds and aquifers unique to each area.

Legislation under consideration in 110th Congress.

This list does not itemize each bill introduced, but rather bills that have been passed by Congressional Committees and/or the House of Representatives or Senate. It is important to note that these legislative efforts may be combined and renamed, and many will never be enacted into law, but they do provide a sense for where Congress is focusing its efforts. These links will be updated regularly by GEO-DC.

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