THE FUTURE OF FRACKING - Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 74

as petroleum geologist Art Beman say just a quarter of them are likely to prove
economical. 8 Nonetheless, the Sloan study—which was praised by both pro- and
anti-hydrofracking groups—suggests that in its lifetime the Barnett will likely see
another 13,000 wells drilled, and produce some 44 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas—equivalent to two years' worth of US natural gas consumption, and more than
three times what has been produced there thus far.
How Political Has Hydrofracking Become?
Although hydraulic fracturing is highly partisan on the local level, it is a low-boil-
ing issue on the national stage. In general, Republicans favor leaving most frack-
ing regulation to the states, believing they can tailor rules to local needs, and do
so more speedily than federal regulators. But many Democrats worry that without
oversight cash-strapped states will engage in a “race to the bottom” and will trim
their rules or fail to enforce them in order to compete for jobs and revenue. 9
There is as yet no national standard for this industrial process, and 31 states with
significant shale resources have responded with widely different requirements. 10
While a heavily fracked state like Pennsylvania requires full disclosure of chem-
icals, for instance, most states that are new to the process, such as Kansas, do not.
In 2009, Ohio issued just a single hydrofracking permit. In 2010 it issued two. But
in 2011 Ohio issued 42 permits, 27 of them between July and September. As a res-
ult, the Ohio Oil and Gas Association anticipates a $14 billion gain for the state by
2015. 11
As of mid-2013, California had no rules specifically regulating fracking, and le-
gislators were caught flat-footed. By that point, 851 wells had been hydrofracked
in the state (mostly in Kern County, near Bakersfield); alarmed, California's strong
environmental movement pushed hard for a moratorium. Now a dozen new laws
are being debated by state legislators, and regulators are rushing to create a new set
of regulations by 2014. 12
In spite of such divisive politics, the hydrofracking debate has seen a few not-
able compromises. In 2013, Illinois was saddled with the worst pension problem
in the nation—roughly $100 billion in unpaid pension liabilities—when a partisan
fight erupted over hydrofracking. 13 Republicans, backed by industry, stumped for
a loosening of regulations in order to attract natural gas producers. The Illinois
Chamber Foundation said increased hydrofracking could bring more than 45,000
jobs to the state. But Democrats, backed by environmentalists, were deeply con-