UIC Wells May Be Vehicle For Fracking Suits Due To Hurdles For Tort Claims

摘要

Legal observers are suggesting that landowners and others opposed to hydraulic fracturing might shift their litigation strategy from tort claims over water pollution and other harms to a new vehicle of suing over permitted underground injection control (UIC) wells for fracking wastewater, due to significant legal hurdles in pursuing tort claims over fracking. "If folks concentrated on [UIC] wells I think we could create a great deal of responsibility" among operators and regulators, says one attorney who frequently represents landowner plaintiffs in oil and gas cases. A gas sector lawyer adds that seismic risks associated with oil and gas wastewater disposal may draw increasing attention in litigation, potentially through lawsuits claiming inadequate protection for underground sources of drinking water due to increased seismicity.