Fracking fears have gone Hollywood

Fracking fears have gone Hollywood by Stephen Ewart, June 8, 2012, Calgary Herald
You know you’ve got an issue when Matt Damon is making a big-budget Hollywood movie on the perils of fracking. Of course, you should have known the industry had an issue when the haphazard operating practices of some companies poisoned the water supply near where they conducted hydraulic fracturing deep underground to open oil and gas reservoirs. … The Paris based IEA warns people should be under no illusion: “Producing unconventional gas is an intensive industrial process.” Since 2009, investors have expressed concern about risks associated with lawsuits on water contamination or how bans on fracking in jurisdictions such as New York, France or Quebec could sterilize company assets. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency releases a series of measures this year to address air emissions and water contamination, it’s clear the operating environment is becoming far more stringent. … The report, entitled Extracting the Facts: An Investor Guide to Disclosing Risks from Hydraulic Fracturing Operations, has a dozen suggestions that mirror the IEA’s recommendations in terms of minimizing toxic chemicals, systematically identifying air emission sources of all sizes, “green” well completions and more disclosure. It also warns that companies don’t always live up to their fulsome promises. [Emphasis added]