Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) on fracking

http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/76719-congress-returns-to-full-plate
01/18/10

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) on fracking

In the House on Wednesday, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), through the Energy and Commerce Energy and Environment subcommittee he chairs, will review a plan by ExxonMobil to buy XTO Energy for $31 billion.

The hearing is also likely to delve into the topic of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” a technique to blast water, chemicals and sand underground to create cracks for natural gas to flow through. Energy companies have used the practice for decades, but as huge natural-gas reserves have been discovered in shale deposits underlying populated areas in New York and Pennsylvania, new concerns have been raised about whether fracking is properly regulated.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) have introduced bills that would end the exemption fracking now has from the Safe Drinking Water Act and require companies to disclose the chemicals they use in the process.

ExxonMobil included a clause in its bid to buy XTO that it could back out of the deal if Congress moves to regulate hydraulic fracturing. Industry contends federal regulation is unnecessary, given state regulations. Energy companies also say more regulation will slow production of an important “bridge fuel,” so labeled because natural gas emits less carbon dioxide than do other fossil fuels, allowing time for renewable energy resources to develop.