For the past several years, parties have disagreed about the disclosure of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” chemicals that are injected into the subsurface as part of the drilling process. Typically, water is mixed with chemicals and small grains of proppant (sand or aluminum oxide), and the mixture is injected at high pressure into a wellbore to create small fractures. After the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, the small proppant grains hold these fractures open to create pathways for the gas to be extracted.
Companies involved in hydraulic fracturing traditionally have sought to avoid disclosure of the chemicals used in the fracturing process, citing industry competition and intellectual property concerns. Antifracking groups and plaintiffs have fought for mandatory disclosure rules, arguing that the information is necessary for any risk analysis or causation inquiry.
