"Frack Water" Is Greens Latest Desperate Attempt Against Fracking

I won't rehash the particulars of the national debate over "fracking", the technology behind the natural gas revolution here in the US (some background here). But for those who are well-versed in the industry and the relevant policy fights, a couple basic facts are more or less agreed upon. Fracking is more or less inevitable, for the following reasons:

1. the energy resources available to us by virtue of fracking are too big to ignore,
   
2. fracking is in the plus column in terms of environmental impact (gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and it will largely displace coal, and then replace large chunks of oil).
   
3. in the end, the greens don't have very good arguments against fracking, there just isn't the evidence that fracking is dangerous.
4. fracking is bringing alot of jobs to previous depressed areas, which, even if fracking was marginally dangerous, are accepting fracking for the economic impact

Given these, especially #3, people in the industry have predicted that efforts to ban or slow fracking will ultimately fail, but that greens will throw everything they have at trying to stop fracking. After the "groundwater pollution" tack fails, which it has almost completely done, the next phase will be to attack the "frack water". We are now there.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will soon begin the process of developing "comprehensive" national standards for wastewater discharges produced by extracting natural gas from underground coalbed and shale formations.

In a written statement released by the agency, the EPA noted that proposed standard will include input from federal and state governments, industry and public health groups. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson contends this latest action is necessary "to make sure the needs of our energy future are met safely and responsibly."

Frack water disposal is probably the least problematic aspect of the entire technology, but that is not stopping Obama's EPA.

The Pittsburgh-based Marcellus Shale Coaltion, which in its three-year history has established itself as a key voice for developing the Marcellus Shale play in an environmentally responsible manner, expressed bewilderment at the EPA's regulatory plans.

"While we certainly appreciate that the EPA shares our concern in protecting the environment, especially water, it is baffling that the agency would move forward with such measures that completely disregard the facts on the ground," said Kathryn Klaber, the coalition's president. "This is yet another Washington solution in search of a problem, as treated Marcellus water in Pennsylvania is no longer discharged into surface waters."

The fight goes on.