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In many states, the chemical make-up of fluid pumped into the ground while fracking is shielded from the public, thanks to laws promoted by ALEC and Exxon Mobil.
One of the key controversies about fracking is the chemical makeup of the fluid that is pumped deep into the ground
to break apart rock and release natural gas. Some companies have been
reluctant to disclose what's in their fracking fluid. Scientists and
environmental advocates argue that, without knowing its precise composition, they can't thoroughly investigate complaints of contamination.
Disclosure requirements vary considerably from state to state, as ProPublica recently charted.
In many cases, the rules have been limited by a "trade secrets"
provision under which companies can claim that a proprietary chemical
doesn't have to be disclosed to regulators or the public.
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One
apparent proponent of the trade secrets caveat? The American
Legislative Exchange Council, better known as ALEC, a nonprofit group
that brings together politicians and corporations to draft and promote conservative, business-friendly legislation. ALEC has been in the spotlight recently because of its support of controversial laws like Florida's "Stand Your Ground" provision.
This weekend, as part of a story on ALEC's political activity, the New York Times
noted that the group recently adopted "model legislation" on fracking
chemical disclosure, based on a bill passed in Texas last year.
According to the Times, the model bill was "sponsored within
ALEC" by ExxonMobil, which runs a major oil and gas operation through
its subsidiary, XTO Energy. The advocacy group Common Cause, which
provided the documents on ALEC's lobbying efforts to the Times, describes model legislation, in many cases identifying by name the company that proposed it to ALEC's task forces.
ALEC
has recently removed its list of model bills from its main website, and
did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for XTO Energy
confirmed that the company is a member of ALEC, but he did not provide
details on the company's involvement with the disclosure bill.
The
spokesman said ExxonMobil supports "full disclosure of the ingredients
and additives in hydraulic fracturing fluids," but added that when
vendors request it, ExxonMobil has "respected the trade secret status of
their products." Last year, the company began voluntarily uploading chemical disclosures to FracFocus, a clearinghouse website run by the Groundwater Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.
In a recent blog post,
ALEC claimed that legislators in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, New
York and Ohio have introduced versions of its model bill, but many of
those states vary in the level of disclosure required and how they handle the trade secrets provision. Laws in 11 states require at least partial disclosure, and the Bureau of Land Management recently drafted disclosure guidelines for drilling on federal land.
These laws have been relatively well-received
by environmental advocates, though the trade secrets issue remains a
concern for some. In Ohio, for example, proprietary chemicals don't have
to be disclosed to regulators or the public. In Pennsylvania, they are
disclosed to regulators, and the public can request information on them
from the state Department of Environmental Protection on a case-by-case
basis.
The Texas law, which ALEC cites in the post as its template, codifies the trade secrets exemption, and who can challenge it:
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