1) has there been any development in regulation policies (ie: disposing-of-waste procedures, stricter fracking-near-homes law) since 2009 when the film was released?
2) Josh Fox pointed out that large metropolitan areas such as Phili and NYC procure their water from one large watershed that lies in the tri-state area--have these cities experienced any disturbances in their water quality?...or is it just the remote, satellite towns feeling the fracking affects..?
3) Fox states in the conclusion that countries such as Africa and Canada are well on their way to begin fracking for gas, have they begun fracking this the movies release? Have their residents experienced water problems?
To answer question 1, according to the Washington Post, in mid-May of this year, the Obama administration drafted fracking regulations on Federal and Indian land to counteract the lax regulatory policies of the Bush administration. The draft received criticism from both fronts: environmentalists believe the administration made too many concessions, specifically regarding water protection, whereas oil manufacturers believe the administration attempted to impede on regulations that should be held within the hands of the state. The federal bureau in charge of fracking regulations is the bureau of land management within the Interior department. The regulation this bureau drafted requires more but not complete disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracking. Certain fracking company chemicals are still protected under trade secret disclosure laws. The chemicals that are disclosed will be disclosed through FracFocus, a website managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission whose mission statement is “to provide the public access to reported chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing within their area. To help users put this information into perspective, the site also provides objective information on hydraulic fracturing, the chemicals used, the purposes they serve and the means by which groundwater is protected” Despite this mission statement, it has been proven that Fracfocus plays both sides of the field, jumping into bed with industry while covering up with a veil of ‘for the people’. The draft also entails a mandatory water management plan: to figure out what to do with the fluids that seep back to the surface and to protect leakage in drinking water. The environmentalists are discontented that the open storage of the hazardous flow back liquids are not been banned under this plan. The consensus amongst environmentalists is that the current plan will lead to business as usual: more loopholes, lack of proper disclosure and safety for the environment and the people living on the land. The industry believes the regulations are fruitless and will only led to increased bureaucracy. The public received 30 days to dispute the proposal, which concluded in mid June
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