From Gung-Ho to Uh-Oh: Charting the Government’s Moves on Fracking

Fracking has only recently become a household word, but government involvement with the drilling technique goes back decades. President Obama has championed the potential of natural gas drilling combined with more regulation. While there has been mounting evidence of water contamination, few regulations have been implemented. The graphic below traces officials’ moves — and levels of caution — over time.

Gung-ho to Uh-oh

Before 2000	2000-2008	2009	2010	2011
1969 The government detonates a 43-kiloton nuclear bomb deep underground in an effort to get at natural gas deposits in Colorado. The gas unlocked by “Project Rusilon” is deemed too radioactive to use.	June 2004 An EPA report concludes that fracking is safe for drinking water. The report, which didn’t include a scientific study, has since been criticized as politically motivated.	June Congress introduces the FRAC Act, a law that would allow the EPA to regulate fracking and require companies to disclose the chemicals they pump into the ground. The bill never came to a vote.	February The House Committee on Energy and Commerce launches an investigation into the potential environmental and health impacts of fracking.	March The FRAC Act mandating more oversight is reintroduced into the House and Senate. It is still in committee.
1976 In response to energy shortages, the DOE launches the Eastern Gas Shales Project, a joint research project between state, federal, and private industrial organizations to research “unconventional” natural gas resources.	August 2005 Congress passes a law prohibiting the EPA from regulating fracking under the Safe Drinking Water Act. In most other cases the law dictates what chemicals can be injected underground.	June The Department of Energy funds AltaRock, a project to extract renewable energy from hot bedrock by using fracking to drill more than two miles deep. The test, which was the Obama administration’s first major geothermal venture, is cancelled quickly due to concerns about causing an earthquake.	March The EPA launches a study looking at the impacts of fracking on drinking water nationwide. The final report is due out in 2014.	April Congressional Democrats release a report stating that over the past few years gas drillers have injected millions of gallons of fluids containing potentially toxic chemicals into the ground.
1986 As part of an early federal effort to investigate new methods of extracting natural gas, the Department of Energy sponsors the drilling of a 2,000-foot horizontal well in the Devonian shales of Wayne County, WV.	August 2005 The Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research Program is established to develop technologies to increase national oil and gas production and reduce dependency on imports.	August In response to complaints of drinking water contamination, the EPA begins investigating wells in drilling areas of Pavillion, Wyoming. Initial testing finds at least three water wells that contain a chemical used for fracking.	December The Department of the Interior holds a forum to discuss the impact of current drilling practices and to consider a policy requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use for fracking. President Obama has spoken in support of such a policy, but no official rules have been implemented.	May A federal panel releases a report concluding that current fracking regulations may not be enough to protect the environment and public health. That same month, Congress introduces the BREATHE act, which would give the EPA power to regulate air pollution from fracking. It has yet to pass.
	January 2007 A Bush administration memo effectively loosens the limits on air pollution from many natural gas wells.	October The Obama administration rescinds the 2007 memo that loosened restrictions on air pollution caused by drilling.		July 2011 The EPA proposes a set of regulations to reduce harmful air pollution from oil and natural gas production, specifically targeting compounds released by fracking. The regulations have not yet been adopted.
		December In a controversial decision, the Bureau of Land Management approves gas drilling within a three mile buffer zone of a radioactive Colorado site, the home of the 1960’s nuclear test Project Rusilon.		October The EPA announces a plan to issue new national rules for fracking wastewater. The process is still in its early stages, and the EPA is currently simply soliciting input.
				November In response to a petition by environmental groups, the EPA agrees to develop rules requiring companies to test and submit data on the chemicals they use for fracking. Again the rules are not yet set.
				December An EPA draft report concludes that contaminants in Pavillion, Wyoming most likely seeped up from gas wells, scientifically linking water contamination to fracking for the first time.