Q&A: New Rules in Pennsylvania Require Drillers to Disclose Toxic Chemicals Used in Fracking

From our collaborating companion “Residing on Earth,” public radio’s environmental information journal, an interview by producer Aynsley O’Neill with Kristina Marusic, a journalist for Environmental Well being Information. This interview has been edited for size and readability. 

In November 2023, Environmental Well being Information reporter Kristina Marusic talked with Residing on Earth in regards to the bid by the Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to unmask the key chemical compounds utilized in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, although some particulars have been missing.

Now the state has superior guidelines that might require fuel and oil drillers to reveal any poisonous chemical compounds they plan to inject into the bottom, somewhat than solely requiring them to inform regulators after the actual fact.

However some chemical compounds will stay shrouded in thriller, since these which can be thought-about “commerce secrets and techniques” are exempted, and the brand new rule solely applies to new fracking operations, not current tasks.

Right here’s what the brand new fracking guidelines imply for protecting consuming water secure. 

KRISTINA MARUSIC: The massive modifications with this new coverage are that now each single firm that wishes to drill a effectively within the state of Pennsylvania should submit a listing of the chemical compounds they intend to make use of to the Pennsylvania Division of Environmental Safety earlier than they drill the effectively, versus after, and the Division of Environmental Safety is now going to submit these lists by itself web site and make them publicly obtainable earlier than drilling occurs.

AYNSLEY O’NEILL: So elevated transparency is the objective, they usually’re going to publicly submit these lists. What does that imply for the folks in these communities? What can they do with these lists of chemical compounds now that they will be disclosed?

MARUSIC: This theoretically would possibly give communities extra of a chance to say we’re not comfy with these chemical compounds getting used to drill a effectively in our neighborhood, and to both use that in public hearings in regards to the allowing course of, or to barter with an oil and fuel firm or ask an oil and fuel firm to vary the mixtures of chemical compounds that they’re utilizing. There’s no assure that that might be efficient, in fact, however I do assume, generally, it’s useful for communities to know what chemical compounds a fracking firm is proposing to make use of in wells that they wish to drill close to their properties and faculties and companies.

O’NEILL: What are the considerations with fracking on the subject of chemical publicity?

MARUSIC: There are greater than a thousand completely different chemical compounds which have been utilized in these fracking fluid mixtures over time. These chemical compounds can embody carcinogens like formaldehyde, arsenic and benzene; attainable carcinogens like naphthalene and acrylamide; and ethylene glycol, which is linked to wreck to the kidneys, nerves and respiratory system. 

We additionally know that PFAS—or ceaselessly chemical compounds—have been utilized in fracking in numerous elements of the nation, together with Pennsylvania. The priority is that communities could also be uncovered to those chemical compounds via the method of fracking. There’s a particular federal loophole known as the Halliburton Loophole that exempts the oil and fuel trade from federal regulation underneath the Protected Ingesting Water Act. 

Because of this the trade can use hazardous chemical compounds like these with out being topic to the identical rules as different industries that wish to use all these chemical compounds. I wrote a few 2023 examine that discovered that fracking corporations used greater than 280 million kilos of hazardous chemical compounds from 2014 to 2021 that ought to have been regulated underneath the Protected Ingesting Water Act, however weren’t due to this Halliburton loophole.

O’NEILL: Governor Shapiro’s announcement signifies that there’s a step being taken in direction of elevated transparency. However this new coverage doesn’t cowl chemical compounds which can be thought-about commerce secrets and techniques. What’s the difficulty there?

MARUSIC: In Pennsylvania, and plenty of different states the place there’s an enormous oil and fuel presence, lots of the general public disclosure legal guidelines for these chemical compounds have a commerce secrets and techniques provision that enables corporations to withhold details about chemical mixtures that they are saying are proprietary, or that represent commerce secrets and techniques. 

There was one other examine final yr that confirmed that the variety of instances and the portions of chemical compounds that corporations are claiming are commerce secrets and techniques of their public chemical disclosures has elevated fairly dramatically over time, which some folks discover regarding. And this new coverage nonetheless permits for corporations to withhold that data from the general public. 

In Pennsylvania, corporations have at all times been required to offer that data to state regulators in the event that they ask for it. So whereas that data gained’t be included within the public disclosures, in concept, the Division of Environmental Safety ought to get the whole checklist together with these commerce secret chemical compounds. One downside with that’s that operators purchase these mixtures of chemical compounds from third events. One of many corporations that sells essentially the most of these items is Halliburton, [of] the Halliburton Loophole. 

They’re known as issues like ‘Frack Magic.’ They’ve very goofy names, these fracking chemical mixtures. They usually don’t at all times include full ingredient lists, as a result of they’re not required to by legislation. In lots of cases, operators don’t truly know what’s in these fracking chemical mixtures, in order that they’re not capable of present an entire checklist to regulators. In Pennsylvania, the legislation particularly says that they will’t get in bother for not disclosing an entire checklist if it’s as a result of they don’t have it. So there’s this sort of lack of transparency all all through the provision chain that causes issues.

O’NEILL: Now that this new coverage is taking impact, what repercussions would fracking corporations face in the event that they don’t abide by the coverage, in the event that they don’t make these chemical lists obtainable to the general public?

MARUSIC: The Pennsylvania Division of Environmental Safety says it’s actively offering coaching to fracking operators on these new guidelines, and that it plans to assessment all of those paperwork earlier than drilling occurs to make it possible for this data has been offered. The company didn’t immediately reply to my questions on whether or not drilling permits might be denied if corporations didn’t present this data, however they did say that the company will conduct enforcement as wanted to make sure compliance with these new guidelines. 

Basically, the company’s enforcement instruments usually embody notices about violations and ongoing communication with fracking corporations about coming into compliance. If that’s not efficient, they will in the end effective an organization for not adhering to its insurance policies.