Outcomes of the Halliburton Loophole: Chemicals regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act in US fracking disclosures, 2014-2021.

Autor: Underhill V; Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, USA. Electronic address: v.underhill@northeastern.edu., Fiuza A; Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, USA., Allison G; The Ohio State University, USA., Poudrier G; Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Northeastern University, USA., Lerman-Sinkoff S; Department of Geography, Clark University, USA., Vera L; Department of Sociology and Department of Environment and Sustainability, University at Buffalo, USA., Wylie S; Department of Sociology & Anthropology and Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) [Environ Pollut] 2023 Apr 01; Vol. 322, pp. 120552. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Nov 08.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120552
Abstrakt: Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has enabled the United States to lead the world in gas and oil production over the past decade; 17.6 million Americans now live within a mile of an oil or gas well (Czolowski et al., 2017). This major expansion in fossil fuel production is possible in part due to the 2005 Energy Policy Act and its "Halliburton Loophole," which exempts fracking activity from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). To begin quantifying the environmental and economic impacts of this loophole, this study undertakes an aggregate analysis of chemicals that would otherwise be regulated by SDWA within FracFocus, an industry-sponsored fracking disclosure database. This paper quantifies the total disclosures and total mass of these chemicals used between 2014 and 2021, examines trends in their use, and investigates which companies most use and supply them. We find that 28 SDWA-regulated chemicals are reported in FracFocus, and 62-73% of all disclosures (depending on year) report at least one SDWA-regulated chemical. Of these, 19,700 disclosures report using SDWA-regulated chemicals in masses that exceed their reportable quantities as defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Finally, while the most common direct-supplier category is "company name not reported," Halliburton is the second-most named direct supplier of SWDA regulated chemicals. Halliburton is also the supplier most frequently associated with fracks that use SDWA regulated chemicals. These results show the necessity of a more robust and federally mandated disclosure system and suggest the importance of revisiting exemptions such as the Halliburton Loophole.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Vivian Underhill reports financial support was provided by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences T32 Postdoctoral Grant.
(Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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