Texas drillers to report on fracking chemicals and water use

According to The New York Times, as of February 1, 2012, Texas oil and gas drillers who use a process called fracking will be required to report many of the chemicals - acids, hydroxides and other compounds - used in a given well. In addition, drillers must report how much water was used to frack each well. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/us/new-texas-rule-to-unlock-secrets-of-hydraulic-fracturing.html?_r=2&hp

Justin Furnace, president of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, estimates that most fracked wells use 1 million to 5 million gallons of water over a 3 to 5 day period. Environmentalists want to know both the amount of water used and if that water comes from the aquifer, reservoirs, or from water recycled from other fracking operations.

Texas officials, landowners and environmentalists will finally get a chance to learn more about the chemicals being used and the amount of water injected into the ground at each well site.