Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) wants the Obama administration to reconsider plans to regulate hydraulic fracturing, arguing such a move is unnecessary because Wyoming and other states have already adopted rules that he said protect public health and the environment.

Mead, in a two-page letter sent last week to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, noted that Wyoming was the first state in the nation to adopt rules regulating fracturing, or fracking, and that these rules address issues such as well bore integrity and the public disclosure of chemicals used in the fracking process.

"These rules were developed based on sound science and a thorough public process," Mead wrote. "They are intended to protect public health, safety, and the environment while allowing economic growth."

Mead wrote that he has heard "no concern from the Bureau of Land Management about the adequacy of Wyoming's regulatory structure" and thus finds it "troubling" that BLM is working to develop fracking regulations that "will duplicate and possibly be sequential to Wyoming's rules."

"Such layering of federal rules on top of existing state rules is unnecessary, burdensome, and unreasonable," Mead wrote. "Such redundancy will add cost and delay to a process that is already efficiently, effectively regulated by the State of Wyoming."

Mead's letter comes as BLM is expected in the coming weeks to issue draft rules requiring the disclosure of hydraulic fracturing chemicals in addition to safeguarding well bore integrity and managing the disposal of water used in the fracking process.

The letter was submitted to Salazar a day before President Obama signed an executive order establishing a new interagency working group designed to promote the safe development of domestic unconventional natural gas, which typically requires the use of fracking (Greenwire, April 13).

Oil, gas and manufacturing advocates applauded last week's executive order, which they noted clearly says that "states are the primary regulators of onshore oil and gas activities" and that federal regulators have only "an important role to play" in the oversight of the industry (E&ENews PM, April 13).

Federal response

Interior spokesman Adam Fetcher declined yesterday to comment on Mead's letter. He said in an emailed statement to EnergyWire that the agency is reviewing the letter and will respond directly to the governor.

But Fetcher defended Interior's efforts to explore fracking regulations, and he dismissed concerns raised in Mead's letter that the Obama administration is preparing to roll out overly burdensome regulations that will kill energy development on public lands across the West.

"As the president has made clear, this administration's all-of-the-above energy strategy starts with an all-out effort to boost American production of oil and gas," Fetcher said in the statement.

But any such effort to boost oil and gas production needs to be done in a way that protects public health and the environment, he said.

Fetcher pointed to Salazar's November testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee about the future of oil and gas development on federal lands and waters.

Salazar testified at the hearing that about 90 percent of all natural gas wells on BLM land use hydraulic fracturing, a technique that he said has "raised a number of concerns about the potential impacts on water quality and availability, particularly with respect to the chemical composition of fracturing fluids and the methods used."

Thus, as natural gas production continues to expand, Fetcher said, "it is critical that the public have full confidence that the right safety and environmental protections are in place. That's why we will be proposing a way forward to ensure that we continue to develop this abundant domestic resource on public lands safely and responsibly."

Ongoing debate, lingering concern

Indeed, Mead's letter comes at a time of growing public interest and concern over fracking -- the controversial technique of injecting water, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure to create fissures in tight rock formations that allow oil and gas to flow freely to the surface.

While the industry has used fracking for decades, the practice has come under increased public scrutiny as residents and local government leaders from New York to Wyoming have expressed concerns about chemicals in the fracking process contaminating groundwater.

In Colorado, the booming Niobrara Shale formation that stretches across the eastern side of the state is sparking a boom in new onshore crude oil production. But the increased drilling activity along the Front Range has prompted local governments in areas that are not accustomed to large-scale drilling to adopt restrictive regulations that in some cases have included moratoriums on fracking.

This prompted Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in February to form a 12-member task force of industry, government and environmental representatives to determine whether the state or local cities and counties have control over aspects of drilling operations such as fracking.

That task force is scheduled to submit its final recommendations today to the governor's office. A draft report released last week outlines recommendations for better communication between industry and state and local leaders in an effort to soothe public concerns (EnergyWire, April 16).

But Mead is clear in his letter to Salazar that states should have the final say on fracking.

"I respectfully request that the BLM not duplicate Wyoming's regulations or impose duplicate regulations on Wyoming," he wrote, and that the agency "defer to states, like Wyoming, that adequately and effectively manage hydraulic fracturing."

Click here to read Mead's letter.

Streater writes from Colorado Springs, Colo.