This article was originally published in The Water Report, the monthly newsletter for water lawyers, and anyone interested in water law, water rights, and water quality in the western United States. Special thanks to David Light for permission to republish.
Introduction
Hydraulic fracturing (commonly called “fracking”) is perhaps the single most controversial environmental issue of the day. The process involves breaking open otherwise impermeable oil and gas bearing geologic formations using a pressurized mixture of water, “proppant” (generally sand or ceramic beads), and chemicals. The mixture is injected down a wellbore, the proppant becomes lodged in the fractures, holding them open, and after a period of flowback recovery, gas and oil can be recovered. Recent technical breakthroughs in horizontal drilling, combined with improvements in traditional hydraulic fracturing techniques, have opened up vast areas of previously “unconventional” deep shale formations to economic development, resulting in a massive boom in oil and gas production across the country — and prompting major controversy.
