Colorado’s fracking regulations set for review

With the number of gas and oil wells being drilled in the Niobrara shale formation in Weld and Larimer counties expanding exponentially, concern has been rising about the safety of the chemicals and fluids being used to tap those deposits.

Oil and gas companies have been using hydraulic fracturing of rock formations to get at the deposits for decades, but the practice, commonly known as fracking, has become more widespread in recent years.

Environmentalists have raised concerns about some of the fracking fluids, which include chemicals that are either known or suspected carcinogens, according to a report issued by three U.S. House of Representatives, including Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver.

The report said Colorado was second only to Texas among states that had at least 100,000 gallons of fracturing fluids containing a carcinogen injected underground between 2005 and 2009.

Both DeGette and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet have said they support legislation to require companies to disclose what is in their fracking fluids, which some companies say is proprietary information.

On April 11, a new website – FracFocus.org – was launched to provide more transparency into what drillers are using in their fracturing fluids. The voluntary website, developed by the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, lists fluids used in wells drilled since Jan. 1 across the nation.

So far, only one company – Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. – has released information on the fracked wells it has drilled in Weld and Larimer counties.

John Christiansen, Anadarko spokesman, said the company is participating as part of its ongoing effort to be as transparent as possible.

“I think anytime you’re engaged in a business in a community that may not be familiar with these things, it’s incumbent to be willing to share with them this kind of information, and that’s what we’re trying to do with hydraulic fracturing,” he said.

Christiansen acknowledges that the information on the website is provided by fracking suppliers, who may still withhold proprietary formulas from the site.

“The proprietary nature of some of the ingredients used are under the control of those third parties,” he said.

Still, Christiansen notes that fracking has never conclusively been shown to cause groundwater contamination and that the process usually takes place more than a mile below the surface and thousands of feet below the water table.

Christiansen said it would “defy the laws of gravity and physics” for fracking fluids to percolate upward through “multiple layers of impervious rock.”

Tisha Conoly Schuller, president and CEO of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said the industry-based organization strongly supports the FracFocus website as a way to address transparency when it comes to identifying fracking fluids.

“It’s a great website where anyone can see each additive,” she said. “We believe this is a format that’s usable and accessible.”

Schuller said she expects many more companies will soon be joining Anadarko in listing their fluids.

“We expect to have high levels of participation,” she said. “We haven’t talked to a company yet that’s not participating or intends to participate.”

Schuller said COGA opposes any federal law to require companies to disclose their fracking fluids. She notes that Colorado already has a regulation adopted in 2007 that says anyone concerned about a possible incident of groundwater contamination can request the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to demand to see what is in the fracking fluid.

Last year, Wyoming adopted one of the nation’s most open regulations on disclosing fracking fluids. Schuller said both states have taken good approaches and the federal government should stay out of regulating disclosure.

“I definitely think all oil and gas activity should be regulated on a state-by-state basis,” she said. “Wyoming has a good solution for Wyoming and Colorado has a good solution for Colorado.”

Colorado recently volunteered – through the COGCC – to have its fracking regulations reviewed by a third-party nonprofit organization called STRONGER, or State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations, established under the Ground Water Protection Council.

Spokesman Mike Nickolaus said STRONGER’s nine-member board, which includes three representatives of state regulatory bodies, three from environmental groups and three from the oil and gas industry, has the kind of balanced perspective to come up with suggestions for improving fracking regulations.

“The whole purpose of the (review) process is a three-legged stool where everyone participates equally,” he said.

Nickolaus said states are not charged for the reviews done by Oklahoma-based STRONGER, which receives its funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Petroleum Institute.

Nickolaus said Colorado’s review will start in June and a report should be ready by August or September.

Steve Porter covers agribusiness and natural resources for the Northern Colorado Business Report. He can be reached at 970-232-3147 or at sporter@ncbr.com.

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