Texas calls for fracking fluid disclosure

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AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Texas officials passed what they said was one of the most comprehensive chemical disclosure rules regarding hydraulic fracturing of shale gas deposits.

Texas Railroad Commissioners said they adopted a measure that would require oil and natural gas operators in the state to post the ingredients used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, fluid on the Internet.

Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter said the public has a right to know what's going into the ground but noted fracking has been conducted safely in his state since the 1950s.

"With this new rule, Texans will know more about what is going in the ground for energy production than about the ingredients that go into their sodas," added commission Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced, in a draft report last week, it found levels of glycols and other synthetic chemicals associated with fracking, fluid "well above" standards that are considered safe in deep wells in Wyoming. A test of drinking water wells, however, didn't show the same level of pollutants.

Texas has some of the more lucrative shale plays in the United States. Most U.S. shale deposits lie east of the Mississippi River.