By John Broder | The New York Times
The Obama administration on Thursday issued a new set of proposed rules governing hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on public lands, moving further to address industry concerns about the costs and reporting burdens of federal regulation.
The new Interior Department proposal, which is subject to 30 days of public comment and further revision, disappointed environmental advocates, who had pushed for full disclosure of the chemicals used in the drilling process and tougher standards for groundwater protection and well integrity.
The new rule allows oil companies to keep some components of their drilling fluids secret and will allow them to run well integrity tests on one representative well rather than all wells in a field where the geology and well construction techniques are similar.
The proposed regulation, which revises one proposed a year ago, also allows drillers to comply with state regulations in places where federal officials deem them as tough or tougher than the applicable federal rules.
Environmental advocacy groups and industry officials were critical of the proposed rules.
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