As prepared for delivery
Statement of Stephanie Meadows, Upstream Senior Policy Advisor, American Petroleum Institute
Before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Hydraulic Fracturing Informational Meetings
July 8, 2010
Fort Worth, TX
Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to briefly address EPA's proposed Hydraulic Fracturing Research Study.
My name is Stephanie Meadows. I am a Senior Policy Advisor for the American Petroleum Institute. API has more than 400 member companies, which represent all sectors of America's oil and natural gas industry. Our members have extensive experience with the drilling and completion techniques like hydraulic fracturing to safely and responsibly develop shale gas. This technology is crucial to gaining access to clean-burning and domestically abundant natural gas, which will help meet energy needs for generations of Americans to come.
Our top priority is to provide energy in a safe, technologically sound way with the least possible impact on the environment. We take seriously our responsibility to our members and surrounding communities to work in cooperation with federal and state government to develop design standards, recommended practices, and guidance documents that will improve operational integrity and regulatory processes across the board.
We know there has been substantial public concern over the use of hydraulic fracturing, and we support the EPA's ongoing scientific review of this technology and its potential impact on water resources. We plan to remain actively engaged in both the study plan development and its ultimate implementation.
We are confident that a comprehensive review will confirm what 60 years of experience and investigation have demonstrated -- that the sound application of this technology, following well recognized risk-based decision making principles poses no significant risk to human health, drinking water resources, or the environment.
API continues to develop additional guidance specific to this topic, including guidance on well construction and integrity, water use and management throughout the life cycle of a well, and surface environmental protections. These guidance documents not only provide a straightforward written framework for sound operations for industry operators and state regulators, but should also prove informative to the EPA Office of Research and Development's research efforts because they were developed with a comprehensive, risk-based approach as the foundation. Each of these guidance documents can be downloaded free of charge from the API website at A-P-I DOT O-R-G. We will also be sharing these best practices and guidance documents with state regulators.
We look forward to providing constructive input throughout the stakeholder process and stand ready to offer our expertise to the Agency as the study progresses.
Thank you.