Watching Government: Federal fracing research update

May 6, 2013
Four agencies are moving ahead and continuing to coordinate federal hydraulic fracturing research despite missing a pair of deadlines, officials told a pair of US House Science, Space, and Technology Committee subcommittees on Apr. 25.

Four agencies are moving ahead and continuing to coordinate federal hydraulic fracturing research despite missing a pair of deadlines, officials told a pair of US House Science, Space, and Technology Committee subcommittees on Apr. 25.

US President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Apr. 13, 2012, establishing a high-level, inter-agency working group to coordinate development of policies to facilitate safe and response development of domestic unconventional natural gas resources.

The US Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and Department of the Interior signed a memorandum of understanding creating the inter-agency effort. The MOU required publication of a research plan within 9 months of a steering committee's format, which occurred in May, but the agencies missed the resulting January 2013 deadline. They also haven't released a plan draft.

"Federal coordination and collaboration is critical in addressing development of unconventional oil and gas resources," Guido DeHoratiis, DOE's acting deputy assistant secretary for oil and gas, told the Energy and Environment subcommittees on Apr. 25 "Each of the 3 agencies has a unique set of core abilities relevant to this effort."

The MOU said DOE's Fossil Energy Office would handle wellbore integrity, flow, and control; green technologies; systems engineering, imaging, and materials. DOI's US Geological Survey would assess resources; hydrology and geology; and land use, wildlife, and ecological impacts. EPA would evaluate air monitoring; environment and human health risk; and water quality.

EPA's congressionally mandated study of fracing's potential impacts on drinking water supplies is proceeding separately, Kevin Teichman, a senior science advisor in EPA's research and development office, said at the hearing.

The effort's goal

"The goal is to produce decision-ready information to promote development of these resources while protecting communities and the environment," David P. Russ, USGS's US Northeast Regional Executive, testified.

The US Department of Health and Services informally began to informally provide information to the inter-agency group in January from HHS's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and National Institute for Environmental Health Services about possible impacts on local communities.

NIOSH initiated a field effort to identify potential occupational health hazards from fracing in 2008 and found exposure to crystalline silica was the most significant, Robin Ikeda, HHS's Toxic Substances and Disease Registry acting director, told the subcommittees.

Through formal partnerships with several hydraulic fracturing companies, worker exposure assessments for silica were conducted at 11 different sites in 5 different states, she noted. "When the silica hazard was identified, NIOSH widely communicated its findings and recommendations to industry groups, trade associations, and other federal agencies to control this hazard," Ikeda said.

Strong stakeholder involvement has been emphasized throughout, the 4 witnesses maintained.