Legislative panel signs off on new rules for fracking

CARSON CITY — A legislative panel on Friday signed off on new rules for oil and gas companies to follow for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in Nevada.

The Legislative Commission approved the regulations submitted by the state Division of Minerals. The Commission on Mineral Resources in August approved the regulations, which have drawn protests from opponents who are concerned the process could lead to groundwater contamination and excessive use of groundwater in drought-stricken Nevada.

The regulations drew more protests at the commission meeting, including from Christian Gerlach, executive director of Save Nevada’s Water: Ban Fracking In Nevada, who reiterated his concerns about the effects of the process on the state’s groundwater resources. Fracking opponents also fear leaky fracking wells could poison groundwater supplies.

The commission approved the regulations, however, after a brief hearing on the regulations.

Assemblyman Skip Daly, D-Sparks, asked several questions about the regulations, noting that the public wants to be assured that the state’s groundwater resources are protected as fracking proceeds in Nevada with the anticipated economic benefits.

Daly said he is not opposed to fracking because of the potential for job creation and the ability to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign oil. But it has to be done safely with proper monitoring, he said.

The new regulations require the monitoring of well casings for quality, the disclosure of all chemicals used, the notification of land owners and county commissioners, and the collection of multiple water samples for testing.

Kevin Vorhaben, business unit director for Nobel Energy, said in a statement that the regulations were developed collaboratively and will protect human health and the environment – especially groundwater – while allowing safe and responsible oil and natural gas exploration and development.

“These innovative rules support the use of proven horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to safely and responsibly develop Nevada’s discovered and undiscovered oil and natural gas resources,” he said. “Noble Energy believes these regulations are tough and will help ensure the public and the environment are protected.”

But Bob Fulkerson, state director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, said the regulations fall short of providing the kind of protections Nevada communities deserve and groundwater resources demand.

“The regulations were approved in a rushed, non-transparent process by the Commission on Minerals, which is comprised of members who represent (i.e., own interest in) oil, gas and mining corporations,” he said in written testimony submitted to the commission.

Fulkerson said Nevada should follow the lead of New York, which implemented a moratorium on fracking pending a further environmental and socio-economic analysis of fracking’s impacts.

PLAN and other groups opposed to fracking will go to the Legislature in 2015 and seek the strengthening of the regulations, he said.

Fracking efforts in Nevada so far are focused on Elko County, where Houston-based Noble Energy owns and operates exploratory fracking wells on 370,000 acres of ranch land near Wells, some 400 miles north of Las Vegas.

Vorhaben said the company is in the early stages of exploration in northeastern Nevada. The first two exploration wells in Elko County were drilled on private leased land in the Humboldt field, about 17 miles east of Elko. Water came from a well drilled on location and so did not compete with the needs of local supplied, he said.

Division of Minerals employees were on site to observe and ensure all regulations were followed, Vorhaben said.

The Bureau of Land Management has also signed a record of decision on Noble Energy’s proposals to conduct oil and natural gas exploration drilling in the Mary’s River and Huntington areas. The company is actively preparing road sites and upgrading gravel roads and bridges in both areas. The drilling of the first exploration well in the Huntington area began this fall.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801