Committee chairman presses Salazar to testify on gas ‘fracking’

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) is pressing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to appear in front of the panel before Salazar unveils a proposal to increase regulation of natural-gas drilling on public lands.

Salazar told reporters last week that a long-anticipated proposal to regulate the controversial drilling method called “hydraulic fracturing” could surface in a month or so.

{mosads}Hastings — who has expressed concern with the potential gas rules in the past — sent a letter to Salazar Tuesday reiterating his goal to have the secretary discuss the plan with the committee.

“In accordance with our previous communications, I look forward to you appearing before the Natural Resources Committee prior to the Department issuing any new regulations or requirements governing hydraulic fracturing on federal lands so that we may work together on this important issue,” the letter states.

The new letter from Hastings — who believes the Obama administration is unduly restricting energy development — makes clear that he’s wary of new rules governing the drilling method dubbed “fracking.”

“It is our responsibility, as the Committee with jurisdiction on activities on federal lands, to carefully examine this issue and ensure any action proposed by the Department is within the law and takes into consideration the impacts on jobs, communities, revenues, states and our economy,” Hastings’s letter states.

Salazar is eyeing requirements for disclosure of chemicals used in the fracking process, and suggested the rules could be wider in scope.

{mossecondads}Hydraulic fracturing involves high-pressure injections
of water, chemicals and sand into rock formations, which open up cracks
that enable trapped gas to flow. Use of fracking in shale-gas
formations is enabling a U.S. gas boom, but bringing concerns about
water contamination along with it.

Salazar, at a briefing with reporters last week, said he supports expanded natural-gas development, but made the case for new requirements.

“I think hydraulic fracking is very much a necessary part of the future
of natural gas,” he said. “I think hydraulic fracking can be done in a
safe way, in an environmentally responsible way, and in a way that
doesn’t create all the concerns that it is creating across the country
right now.”