Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, USA.
Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, USA.
Environ Pollut. 2023 Apr 1;322:120552. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120552. Epub 2022 Nov 8.
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has enabled the United States to lead the world in gas and oil production over the past decade; 17.6 million Americans now live within a mile of an oil or gas well (Czolowski et al., 2017). This major expansion in fossil fuel production is possible in part due to the 2005 Energy Policy Act and its "Halliburton Loophole," which exempts fracking activity from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). To begin quantifying the environmental and economic impacts of this loophole, this study undertakes an aggregate analysis of chemicals that would otherwise be regulated by SDWA within FracFocus, an industry-sponsored fracking disclosure database. This paper quantifies the total disclosures and total mass of these chemicals used between 2014 and 2021, examines trends in their use, and investigates which companies most use and supply them. We find that 28 SDWA-regulated chemicals are reported in FracFocus, and 62-73% of all disclosures (depending on year) report at least one SDWA-regulated chemical. Of these, 19,700 disclosures report using SDWA-regulated chemicals in masses that exceed their reportable quantities as defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Finally, while the most common direct-supplier category is "company name not reported," Halliburton is the second-most named direct supplier of SWDA regulated chemicals. Halliburton is also the supplier most frequently associated with fracks that use SDWA regulated chemicals. These results show the necessity of a more robust and federally mandated disclosure system and suggest the importance of revisiting exemptions such as the Halliburton Loophole.
水力压裂（压裂）使美国在过去十年中在天然气和石油产量方面领先世界；现在，有 1760 万美国人居住在距离油井或气井一英里范围内（Czolowski 等人，2017 年）。这种化石燃料产量的大幅增长部分得益于 2005 年的《能源政策法案》及其“哈利伯顿漏洞”，该漏洞豁免了根据《安全饮用水法》（SDWA）对压裂活动的监管。为了开始量化该漏洞的环境和经济影响，本研究对原本受 SDWA 监管的化学物质在行业赞助的压裂披露数据库 FracFocus 中的综合分析进行了汇总。本文量化了 2014 年至 2021 年期间这些化学物质的总披露量和总质量，研究了其使用趋势，并调查了哪些公司使用和供应最多。我们发现，FracFocus 中有 28 种受 SDWA 监管的化学物质，62-73%的披露（取决于年份）报告至少有一种受 SDWA 监管的化学物质。其中，19700 项披露报告称，在超过根据《综合环境反应、赔偿和责任法》（CERCLA）定义的报告数量的情况下使用了受 SDWA 监管的化学物质。最后，虽然最常见的直接供应商类别是“未报告公司名称”，但哈里伯顿是第二大受 SWDA 监管的化学物质的直接供应商。哈里伯顿也是与使用受 SDWA 监管的化学物质的压裂最常相关的供应商。这些结果表明，有必要建立一个更强大和联邦授权的披露系统，并建议重新审查豁免，如哈利伯顿漏洞。
