Fracking in the United States

[8][9] An imbalance in the supply-demand dynamics for the oil and gas produced by hydraulic fracturing in the Permian Basin of west Texas is an increasing challenge for the local industry, as well as a growing impact to the environment.

[37] Once it has obtained the permit, the company clears an area of 4–5 acres for a stage bed; it may also construct roads, a waste water site, and a temporary gas storage facility.

In October 2013, the US Energy Information Administration projected that the US had surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world's leading producer of combined oil and natural gas hydrocarbons.

[61] A June 2011 New York Times investigation of industrial emails and internal documents found that the profitability of unconventional shale gas extraction may be less than previously thought, due to companies intentionally overstating the productivity of their wells and the size of their reserves.

[62][63] The article was criticized by, among others, The New York Times' own public editor for lack of balance in omitting facts and viewpoints favorable to shale gas production and economics.

[73] A partnership of three companies (UGI Corporation, Inergy Midstream L.P. and Capitol Energy Ventures) has proposed building a new pipeline connecting the Marcellus Shale formation with markets in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

[78] According to Benson (2016), siting a study completed by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, a fracking ban in the United States would result in 14.8 million jobs being cut by the year 2022.

A potential ban would lead to a $4000 increase in the cost of living for a family, gas and electricity prices would rise by 400 percent, household income would drop by $873 billion and the gross domestic product would fall by $1.6 trillion.

While gas drilling companies are reluctant to reveal the proprietary substances in the fluid,[96] the list of additives for hydraulic fracturing includes kerosene, benzene, toluene, xylene, and formaldehyde.

A study conducted between August 2011 and July 2012 as part of Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP) found chemical contaminants in the air and water of rural communities affected by the Shale extraction process in central New York and Pennsylvania.

The researchers stated that it was difficult to assess health impact because of the industry's strategic lobbying efforts that resulted in legislation allowing them to keep the proprietary chemicals in the fluid secret, protecting them from being held legally responsible for contamination.

Volatile organic compounds and diesel particulate matter, for example, result in elevated air pollution concentrations that exceed EPA guidelines for both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health risks.

In states including Ohio and New Mexico, the power to regulate is limited by trade secret provisions and other exemptions exist that preclude companies from disclosing the exact chemical content of their fluids.

Thirdly, state-level policies are more subject to discreet political majority changes and lobbying whereas federal agencies theoretically work more independently from Congress and thus deliver more continuity in terms of policy-making.

of Environmental Protection's position: "While DEP is mindful of the potential economic opportunity that this represents for the State, hydraulic fracturing poses an unacceptable threat to the unfiltered water supply of nine million New Yorkers and cannot safely be permitted with the New York City watershed.

[229] Elected officials there said that they didn't want their citizens, who experienced the Love Canal toxic waste crisis firsthand, to be guinea pigs for hydraulic fracturing, the new technology used in gas drilling operations.

[229] City council member, Glenn Choolokian said, “We won’t let the temptation of millions of dollars in reward for out-of-town companies, corporations and individuals to be the driving force that puts the health and lives of our children and families at risk from the dangers of hydraulic fracturing and its toxic water.

[229] In 2012 Governor Martin O'Malley had issued a hold on applications to drill in western Maryland until a three-year study of hydraulic fracturing's environmental impacts was completed, thus creating a de facto moratorium.

[238] ABC noted on December 6, 2019, that concerning fracking permits and views of fossil fuel extraction in California, "the state is moving to ramp down oil production while Washington is expediting it.

The final BLM report in 2019 "found no adverse impacts of hydraulic fracturing that could not be alleviated," a conclusion which was disputed by several state officials and groups, who argued the analysis was flawed.

[249] On November 19, 2019, Governor Newsom halted the approval of hundreds of fracking permits through the Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources Division[250] pending independent review[251][252] by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with auditing of the process by the California Department of Finance.

BLM was also announced to have approved the resource management plan for the area, meaning 14 prior leases in Monterey and San Benito counties, suspended by litigation from two conservation groups, would be issued.

[265] Proponents have indicated that the oil and gas industry has a history of disregarding risk to communities and the environment, and that, as many of the chemicals used in fracking have not been adequately studied, this buffer zone will help protect Colorado residents and natural resources.

While Proposition 112 would limit the amount of surface area available for well placement, it would not prohibit companies from accessing drill-able reserves that lie beneath the land falling within the 2500 foot buffer.

[273] The woman claimed that more recently she had “suffered from blood clots and a mild stroke for which her lab work can produce no explanation.”[273] New Jersey does not have many shale reserves under the ground within its borders.

[295][296] In 2013, under pressure from the Corbett administration, the PADEP attempted to suppress negative information about the impact of hydraulic fracturing in the state's shade plays from a mandated report on climate change.

The law was slated to take effect in April 2012, but legal challenges from a growing group of Pennsylvania municipalities and organizations led Commonwealth Senior Judge Keith Quigley to order that the implementation of parts of Act 13 be delayed for 120 days.

[307] The Marcellus Shale Law contains a provision that allows doctors access to the list of chemicals in hydraulic fracturing fluid in emergency situations, but forbids them from discussing this information with their patients.

Ronald Krancer contributed $150,000 to Governor Corbett's campaign, tens of thousands to GOP Bob Asher's political action committee and at least $125,000 to the state Republican Party since 2008.

At a conference where public relations measures were discussed, a senior executive at Anadarko Petroleum was recorded on tape saying, "Download the US Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency", while referring to fracking opponents.