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| Bureau of Land Management Map |
By Lena Groeger, ProPublica | News Analysis
Last week’s media coverage of the Obama administration’s
newly-proposed fracking rules focused so heavily on how drilling
companies would have to disclose the chemicals they use that it largely
overlooked the toughest provisions: Drillers would be required to test
the physical integrity of their wells, and more water would be protected
from drilling. Since many wells fail because the cement and casings
crack, the new tests could prevent dangerous leakages.
One major limitation: Although widely understood as “national” guidelines, the draft rules would in fact only apply to a sliver of the nation’s natural gas supply. That’s because they would apply to mineral rights managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which means areas beneath most BLM and tribal land, but scarcely any U.S. Forest Service, private or state-owned lands – where most drilling occurs. Industry has criticized the proposed rules as too restrictive. READ MORE
One major limitation: Although widely understood as “national” guidelines, the draft rules would in fact only apply to a sliver of the nation’s natural gas supply. That’s because they would apply to mineral rights managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which means areas beneath most BLM and tribal land, but scarcely any U.S. Forest Service, private or state-owned lands – where most drilling occurs. Industry has criticized the proposed rules as too restrictive. READ MORE
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