Legal Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing Research Paper

Legal Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing

Energy is major driving factor in all daily activities, from home use to industries. There are various sources of energy, the major one being natural gas and petroleum. Throughout the years, methods of harvesting these forms of energy have been met by many challenges. However, with the advancing steps made in technology as a field, new ways of harvesting the petroleum and gas energy have been designed and modified over time. It is in this line that the hydraulic fracturing method of getting access to these fuels was developed.

Hydraulic fracturing is the process of introduction of fractures in a rock layer by use of a pressurized fluid. Naturally, hydraulic fractures usually form and occur as veins or dikes. Artificial hydraulic fracturing is also known as hydro fracturing or fracing. It is used to retrieve petroleum, natural gas and other substances from their underground reservoir wells. It is a very efficient method, and it greatly maximizes the extraction of the fuels hence it is very important to the economy of a nation.Vents are dug, and pipes are put in through them or geologically formed vents, and water and chemical additives are pumped into the underground under very high pressure to break the petroleum and gas wells for the fuels to be extracted. The pressure of the fluid pumped into the wells causes the oil to rise near the surface for extraction.

However, this very effective method of extraction of the fuels has met many critics. The method has very severe impacts on the environment. Some of the effects include contamination of the ground water. The other risk is contamination of the air reducing its quality and the mishandling of the waste from this process. The chemicals used in the fracturing process mix with the underground water, which when consumed by living organisms causes illnesses, for example, chronic illness like cancer that may result in deaths. Pollution of air is eminent, and the results are ill health….....