Good News? EPA, Fracking and Diesel

Another top story of the year, if the headline to the story is accurate.

There are only three significant issues when it comes to the EPA and fracking regulations:

• states' rights
• bureaucratic redundancy
• use of diesel in fracking

The first issue is beyond the scope of this blog.

The second issue is ... well, for the moment, uninteresting.

The third issue: the only issue that could have, with a stroke of a pen, shut down fracking as "we" know it in the Bakken. See this post.

The story at the first link: if the headline is accurate, this is great news for the Bakken boom. But the devil is in the details with phrases like "the use of diesel will be considered on a case-by-case" basis.

The draft guidance outlines for EPA permit writers, where EPA is the permitting authority, requirements for diesel fuels used for hydraulic fracturing wells, technical recommendations for permitting those wells, and a description of diesel fuels for EPA underground injection control permitting. The draft guidance describes diesel fuels for these purposes by reference to six chemical abstract services registry numbers. The agency is requesting input on this description.

While the guidance undergoes public notice and comment, decisions about permitting hydraulic fracturing operations that use diesel fuels will be made on a case-by-case basis, considering the facts and circumstances of the specific injection activity and applicable statutes, regulations and case law, and will not cite the draft guidance as a basis for decision.