EPA Response to Section 21 Petition on Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Chemicals

Good afternoon. Today, EPA is granting a portion of a petition submitted by 120 public health and environmental organizations asking the Agency to use its authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require companies to submit health and safety related information on chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. While EPA has not granted the entire petition, consistent with the priorities identified in the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future and with the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board recommendations on steps to support the safe development of natural gas resources, EPA will launch a stakeholder and public engagement process to seek input on the design and scope of TSCA reporting requirements.

EPA is exploring an approach that would minimize reporting burden and costs, take advantage of existing information, and avoid duplication of efforts. EPA believes that the development of this country’s natural gas resources should continue to grow responsibly, building off the important work that has already been done by the states, the industry, and others to disclose crucial information to the American public.
More Background:

On August 4, 2011, EPA received a petition requesting that EPA require manufacturers and processors of oil and gas exploration and production chemicals to: 1) require toxicity testing (under TSCA section 4); and 2) maintain and submit records on these chemical substances and mixtures, and any data on environmental or health effects and exposures (under TSCA sections 8(a), 8(c), and 8)d)). Today’s response follows a Nov. 2 interim response which informed the petitioners that the Agency is not granting the request to require toxicity testing under TSCA Section 4 because the petition does not satisfy the requirements of TSCA to demonstrate the need for additional testing. Today, EPA notified the petitioners that the Agency is partially granting the TSCA Sect. 8(a) and 8(d) requests and will initiate a dialogue process to seek public input on the design and scope of TSCA reporting requirements.

For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/oppt/chemtest/pubs/petitions.html

David E. Giamporcaro
Industry and Small Business Liaison
Environmental Assistance Division
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
East Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (MC7408M)
Washington, D.C. 20460
Phone: (202)564-8107
Fax: (202)564-8813

Fracking: Monterey shale exploration draws protest

July 19, 2011
LA TIMES




Environmental groups filed a formal protest this week with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management calling for a halt to the leasing of 2,600-acres in California's Fresno and Monterey counties for oil and gas shale exploration. They said future drilling would likely involve high-pressure hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” a new drilling method linked to water contamination in other parts of the country.

“It seemed to us the BLM was lowballing these areas to sale given current economic conditions,” said Matt Vespa, an attorney at the Center of Biological Diversity.

The BLM’s environmental assessment failed to “take a hard look at the environmental consequences” of fracking. The assessment used historical data from the past 20 years that is not up to date on the new process, Vespa said.

The shale is near the San Antonio reservoir watershed and the area is home to threatened wildlife, the San Joaquin kit fox and blunt-nosed leopard lizard.

Besides the Center for Biological Diversity, the formal protest was signed by the Sierra Club and Los Padres ForestWatch. The coalition is requesting a thorough review of potential effects of fracking and proposed alternatives. It is asking the BLM to cancel the sale scheduled for September, when interested oil companies can bid on the land.

David Christy, spokesman for the BLM, said the department is reviewing the formal protest and has no immediate comment.

Tupper Hull, spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Assn., said people are misinformed about fracking in California. "Hydrualic fracking in California is quite different from other practices," Hull said, pointing out that companies drill for gas in the Marcellus shale, on the East Coast, whereas West Coast operations drill for crude oil.

"Natural gas generated in the Marcellus shale region involves large operations," Hull said. "In California they're smaller, single operations, they don't involve enormous amounts of water, they're not ongoing, and often times the wells are only used once." [Clarification July 21 10:44 a.m. : Hull was not referring to individual wells but to the hydraulic fracturing operation, which only occurs once.]

Environmental groups say fracking, which involves injecting rock formations with high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to release tightly-packed hydrocarbons, can result in the leaking of toxic fluids and methane into groundwater, as well as above-ground wastewater spills. The airborne release of methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, is a major concern with fracking.

 

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-- Ashlie Rodriguez
Photos:A natural gas well in Wyoming, where Halliburton has used hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas. Credit: Anacleto Rapping/Los Angeles Times.