Legal and Environmental Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing - Research Paper Example

? Legal and Environmental Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing al Affiliation In nations where hydraulic fracturing has been adopted as a method of obtaining alternative energy, there is a lot of criticism associated with it. Most have argued that there are many environmental and health problems that have resulted from the process. Though there have been some negatives aspects associated with it, hydraulic fracturing has some positive aspects such as increasing natural gas reserves, which is an advantage to the economy of any country and a good example is United States. There are legal and environmental issues that have risen as a result of hydraulic fracturing. This paper discusses the legal and environmental issues associated with the process and the regulations that have been put in place to ensure that the process is undertaken carefully and responsibility to counter the negative effects. Keywords: Hydraulic Fracturing, Environmental Issues, Legal Issues, Fracking, Consequences, Regulations, Laws Introduction Drillers of hydraulic fracturing have always maintained that the process is well managed as it is tightly controlled and take place far below the ground water levels but despite their assurance, there are many critics advocating for the process to be banned. As the shale revolution has gained fame, it has really triggered a lot of protesters from the Grand Rapids to Paris, as all of them call for a global frack down. For example, in the United States of America, critics worry that in embracing shale energy, there are health and environmental consequences, for example, there will be no clean air or clean water (Prud'homme, 2013). Definition of Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing is also known as fracking. It is a process that is used to suck oil and gas from dense shale formations. The process involves drilling, use of explosions, toxic chemicals, and millions of gallons of water pumped in at very high pressure. It allows the extraction of natural gas from shale in places that were once unreachable with conventional technologies (Prud'homme, 2013). In t6he United States, hydraulic fracturing is gaining recognition and companies involved with the process continue to identify sites to work on. Although it is argued that the process is conducted responsibly, a lot of dangerous occurrences have been reported raising questions of how safe the process is really. For example, there have been reports of blown out gas wells, polluted water sources, air and soil and affected human and animal health. Once a fracking procedure is conducted, it cannot be undone; for example, once a shale formation has fractured, it cannot be returned to its original state. This makes thorough research very crucial before any steps involved in hydraulic fracking proceed. This is especially important in highly populated regions (Prud'homme, 2013). Legal Issues that surrounds Hydraulic Fracturing Due to the process of hydraulic fracturing being used in some of the states in America, there have been legal issues that have been raised so as to ensure its effectiveness. The American court of appeals has had a debate on whether to regulate hydraulic fracturing for some time, as the SDWA has requested. The Clean Water Act requires cleanliness of all water to be maintained. Hydraulic fracturing is a water-intensive process. This is because when a well is fractured hydraulically, the fluid injected returns to the surface as flow back, which is contaminated with sand, chemical residues, and some amount of naturally occurring radioactive materials. This is usually against the CWA (Clean Water Act) section 301, which prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into navigable water. In America, anyone seeking to release or discharge flow back and any water which is not natural is usually required to apply for a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, as it is authorized by the CWA section 402 (Vann, Murrill &Tiemann, 2013). As hydraulic fracturing also causes harm to the air, the United States Clean Air Act ensures that there is regulation of emission of pollutants into the air. In 2012, EPA issued new rules that regulated the emission of volatile organic compounds from hydraulic fracturing (Vann, Murrill &Tiemann, 2013). Therefore, the consequences that come with hydraulic fracturing have seen American laws being more vigilant in ensuring that the process is controlled. Environmental Issues Raised by Hydraulic Fracturing There are many consequences that have risen with the legalization of hydraulic fracturing. In the United States alone, about one million oil and gas wells had been drilled by 2012. A lot of confusion has developed as the critics and supporters of the process try to outdo each other. Hydraulic fracturing has resulted to ground water contamination, which is the most serious and easily identified environmental issue that is raised by the process. A research aimed at finding out whether hydraulic fracturing really contaminates water was carried out in 2012 by the University of Texas (Healy, 2012). From the research results, it was found out that that there were several incidents of possible contamination of water in the United States. This contamination was reported to come from two sources, but initially originating from the hydraulic process. The first source is the the injected fluid that comprises of water and chemicals that are injected in the ground, while the second source is the gas released in the process of hydraulic fracturing (Healy, 2012). The contamination process of the water occurs when shale contains large quantities of harmful chemicals elements and compounds that are dissolved in the hydraulic fracturing fluid, which later returns to the surface during flow blow. This is another environmental issue that has been raised by hydraulic fracturing. When methane is released to the atmosphere during the process, it results in a lot of negative effects. For example, it has a higher net green house gas footprint compared to coal. The Federal Regulations that Address Hydraulic Fracturing Natural gas production through hydraulic fracturing has brought a lot of hope to the American society, when it comes to energy options. The American policy makers have discovered that America can domestically produce energy that is sufficient to serve the country’s needs for as much as a hundred years. As a result of having both positive and negative effects, a lot of controversies have developed and as a result, the state and the federal regulators have scrambled in natural gas production. This scramble has resulted to regulatory change in some states that contain shale gas deposits. The gas and oil industry in general has largely been left to the states. In fact, the oil and gas industry and some cases of the hydraulic fracturing process have been exempted from some federal environmental statutes. Hydraulic fracturing has been exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, Compensation and Liability Act, and the National Environment Policy Act (Brady, n.d.). However, the Safe Drinking Water Act which was enacted in 1974 in order to protect the quality of public drinking water in the United States had defined hydraulic fracturing or underground injection as “the subsurface emplacement of fluids by well injection”, but this definition was seen to exempt hydraulic fracturing (Brady, n.d., p. 4). However, the court of appeals ruled that hydraulic fracturing involved underground injection. As a result EPA and UIC programs were required to regulate hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Therefore, the other acts are seen to exempt hydraulic fracturing. The State Regulations that Address Hydraulic Fracturing In America, states are usually free to regulate hydraulic fracturing according to how they find appropriate. However, they must meet the minimum requirements of any federal law or regulations. Different states have different regulations. For example, in Colorado, the Oil and Gas Conservation Act is the one that primarily governs the oil and gas industry (Brady, n.d.). Its main aim is to ensure that the production of natural oil and gas in the state is consistent with public health and safety, including protection of the environment and the wildlife (Brady, n.d.). In the state of New York, hydraulic fracturing is prohibited. In 2010, the then governor of New York issued an order banning the practice in the Marcellus shale region, until there was an assurance that the process was safe. In the state of Pennsylvania, no person is allowed to drill any well, unless he or she obtains a permit from the Department of Environment Protection (Brady, n.d.). The Department of Environment Protection may reject an application for a permit, if it finds that it is violating the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act or any environmental statute, rule, or regulation (Brady, n.d.). In the state of Texas, regulations related to oil and gas drilling, are administered by the Oil and Gas Department of the Texas Railroad Commission. An operator wishing to drill a well for gas or oil is required to apply for a permit to drill, reenter, or plug back. All usable quality water zones are supposed to be protected by the casings being sealed, so as to prevent the water from being contaminated. Additionally, no surface or subsurface pollution is allowed in the state of Texas (Brady, n.d.). These are just a few states in America, but what remains common to all is that the oil and gas regulations have been left to the discretion of the states. Hydraulic Fracturing in United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, hydraulic fracturing is still on its first stages. When a company wishes to pursue exploration activities, it is licensed by the UK Petroleum and Development License (PEDL) (Richards, Fell, Smith & Keep, 2013). Just like other applications of oil and gas development, proposals or applications in hydraulic fracturing or shale extraction have been left under the care of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990 and must meet its requirements (Richards, Fell, Smith & Keep, 2013). This act is administered by the Minerals Planning Authority; this authority has jurisdiction in areas where development is located. In 2013, the energy minister said that DECC was expecting to launch other onshore license applications in 2014 (Richards, Fell, Smith & Keep, 2013). President’s Executive order On Friday the 12th of April 2012, President Obama issued an executive order that is responsible to ensure that there is support in safe and responsible production of domestic natural gas resource (Marcellus Drilling News, 2012). The scope of this order was to ensure that hydraulic fracturing will not compromise the natural and cultural resources, air and water, public health, and the safety of the American families. The order also ensured that a working group was established, whose function is to support the safe and responsible production of domestic natural gas (Marcellus Drilling News, 2012). In other words the order was aimed at ensuring total responsibility and safety in the process of hydraulic fracturing. Economic Impact Hydraulic fracturing in the United States has been seen to boost the production of energy. Their energy production has increased from 69.44 to 70.76 quadriillion Btu of energy (Hasset & Mathur, 2013). Hydraulic fracturing has also benefited the industrial sector in United States. This is because it has led to the generation of the much needed electricity. As the production of natural gas has increased in the United States over the years, its consumption has also increased (Hasset & Mathur, 2013). The process has been of economic value. This is because of the process, there are skills that are required and this has provided job opportunities, especially to those who are directly employed in the industry. Good examples of the states that have benefited from the process include New York, which has high unemployment rates, as well as Pennsylvania and Ohio (Hasset & Mathur, 2013). The process has also added economic value in that it has helped the American society have a cheaper cost of living. This is because the process has provided more energy and the money which was earlier used to import energy, is used to improve the living conditions of people. Before hydraulic fracturing began, many people used a lot of money in purchasing fuel for their transportation, but with the emergence of the process, more and more energy is produced and thus making energy readily available for consumption, hence saving people’s money (Hasset & Mathur, 2013). Conclusion In conclusion, when it comes to hydraulic fracturing, the process has both positive and negative impacts to the environment, health among others. Hydraulic fracturing has proven to be a very delicate process and a lot of thought should be given before the actual drilling. Laws and regulations have been put in place to ensure that those who drill wells without authorization are caught. This is because the risks that come as a result of the hydraulic fracturing are too many to be overlooked. For example, if a state like Ohio did not have laws and regulations guiding the process, it would be turned into a dumping site. More laws and very strict ones need to be introduced in every state that has embraced hydraulic fracturing, as well as those planning to adopt the process for energy supply. Reference List Brady, W. J. (n.d.). Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation in the United States: The Laissez-Faire Approach of the Federal Government and Varying State Regulations. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.law.du.edu/documents/faculty-highlights/Intersol-2012-HydroFracking.pdf. Hasset, K. A. & Mathur, A. (2013, April 4). Benefits of Hydraulic Fracking. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.aei.org/article/economics/benefits-of-hydraulic-fracking/. Healy, D. (2012, July). Hydraulic Fracturing or ‘Fracking’: A Short Summary of Current Knowledge and Potential Environmental Impacts. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/sss/UniAberdeen_FrackingReport.pdf. Marcellus Drilling News. (2012, April 13). Obama Issues Executive Order on Hydraulic Fracturing. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://marcellusdrilling.com/2012/04/obama-issues-executive-order-on-hydraulic-fracturing/. Prud'homme, A. (2013). Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Richards, P., Fell, M., Smith L. & Keep, M. (2013, 10 September). Shale Gas and Fracking. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn06073.pdf?. Vann, A., Murrill, B. J. & Tiemann, M. (2013, November 15). Hydraulic Fracturing: Selected Legal Issues. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43152.pdf. Read More