The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a final rule aimed at supporting responsible hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") activities on public and tribal lands. The new regulation includes provisions for ensuring the protection of groundwater supplies, higher standards for interim storage of recovered waste fluids from hydraulic fracturing to mitigate risks to air, water and wildlife, and measures to lower the risk of cross-well contamination with chemicals and fluids used in the fracturing operation. Companies will be required to submit more detailed information on the geology, depth, and location of pre-existing wells to afford the BLM an opportunity to better evaluate and manage unique site characteristics. They will also have to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing to the Bureau of Land Management, within 30 days of completing fracturing operations. This rule, which will take effect in 90 days (i.e. on 16 June 2015), is considered insufficient by ecologist associations and unnecessary by the energy industry, as only 10% of fracking operations occurs on federal land.
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