The US Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released the final plan for its multi-year research into the environmental effect of hydraulic fracturing, which the agency expects to complete in 2014.
The 190-page plan outlines steps EPA has taken since March 2010, when it began -- at Congress' direction -- to study the potential impact of fracking on drinking water resources, and charts the forward direction of the study.
According to the their website, EPA officials say they expect to release a preliminary report of the study results by the end of 2012 and to publish "additional reports of study findings as the longer-term projects progress," with a final report on study results issued some time in 2014.
In February, EPA released a 140-page draft study plan, which outlined the agency's goal of studying the full life-cycle of water used for fracking: from the withdrawal of millions of gallons of water, to the chemical composition of fracking fluids, to the disposal of produced water after wells are fracked.
In early March, EPA officials submitted the draft study plan for review to the agency's Science Advisory Board, which collected comments from stakeholders and members of the public as part of its review process. EPA said it has taken all these comments into consideration in the final study plan.
US Representative Maurice Hinchey, the New York Democrat who wrote the bill calling for the fracking study, applauded the EPA announcement.
"Our country is in the middle of shale gas rush, but unbiased, scientific research into hydraulic fracturing is almost non-existent. This EPA study will provide invaluable information to the public and policymakers interested in understanding the impact of hydraulic fracturing on our water resources," Hinchey said Thursday in a statement.
The American Petroleum Institute released a statement saying the oil and gas industry "has a key role to play" in ongoing fracking studies.
"API is confident that the a full examination of the hydraulic fracturing process will confirm that the sound application of this technology, following well-recognized risk-based decision-making principles, poses no significant risk to human health, drinking water resources or the environment," said Stephanie Meadows, API upstream senior policy adviser. "We will review the details of the final study plan and we look forward to being an active participant in the overall process," she added.
