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Another big fat nothing for New Mexico

By Gwen Lachelt

February 10, 2012

The oil and gas industry's amazing power of persuasion resulted in Representative Antonio "Moe" Maestas voting in favor of tabling House Bill 187 - "Disclose Fracturing Fluid Composition" - "in order to give the new state disclosure rule a chance to work."

A chance to work?

Remember that rule? The rule that Governor Martinez's Oil Conservation Commission voted to put in place that requires nothing more than what companies are already required to disclose on Material Safety Data Sheets?

These requirements are supposedly in place to protect industry workers who handle toxic fracking chemicals and additives. Problem is, companies are only required to disclose about HALF of the chemicals they actually use in fracking operations.

Groups denounce attack on EPA investigation of fracking contamination

By Gwen Lachelt

January 17, 2012

After initial testing in August 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) urged Pavillion-area residents not to drink their water or use it for cooking. The reason: their drinking water wells were contaminated with hazardous chemicals commonly associated with oil and gas development.

In the wake of that testing, the EPA began investigating whether the contamination was actually caused by oil and gas development – that is, they set out to determine if oil and gas development actually was guilty of contaminating people’s drinking water wells.

Last month, the preliminary results of that investigation were released as a draft report: yes, oil and gas development, including hydraulic fracturing, is the culprit.

This is a huge deal. If these results are confirmed, they will definitively refute the oil and gas industry’s oft-repeated claim that hydraulic fracturing has never contaminated drinking water wells.