Tag: diesel fuel

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette, the ranking member of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, sent updated numbers to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson on Tuesday showing the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing fluid is more widespread than first discovered in an earlier investigation.

Coming up with a definition of diesel fuel seems like a fairly straightforward task, but in the world of natural gas drilling and the process of hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – nothing ever comes easy. Senior Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette on Monday joined fellow Democrats Henry Waxman, Edward Markey and Rush Holt in asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to write a much broader definition of diesel fuel than the industry seems willing to accept.

A top Colorado oil and gas industry official today echoed the sentiments of Halliburton and a national lobbying group in reacting to a congressional investigation alleging the possible illegal use of diesel fuel in the controversial natural gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing.

Oil and gas industry lobbyists in Colorado still have not commented to The Colorado Independent on the results of a congressional investigation earlier this week that revealed more than 32 million gallons of diesel fuel had been used in hydraulic fracturing operations in 19 states, including 1.3 million gallons in Colorado.

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether 12 oil and gas service companies, including Halliburton, violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by using more than 32 million gallons of diesel fuel in the controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing.