States Weigh Financial Assurance Mandates For Fracking, Produced Water

摘要

State environmental regulators are considering financial assurance mandates for oil and gas exploration projects to safeguard against environmental harms when the wells are shuttered, but the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is urging them to expand that mandate to reuse of the industry's produced water, such as for irrigation. "I think we're moving towards some kind of bonding for spills and long-term remediation at legacy sites," North Dakota Department of Health Environmental Health Section Chief David Glatt told Inside EPA at the Environmental Council of the States' (ECOS) fall meeting here Sept. 26, speaking about his state's efforts. However, he cautioned that any state financial assurance rule remains a long-term idea. "We just started that conversation."