Despite pollution debate, Chu believes working with EPA will ensure overall environmental safety
By Sarah Wolfe
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As part of its merger agreement with XTO Energy, ExxonMobile says it will cancel the $31 billion deal if fracking – a common drilling method used to extract natural gas from hard shale-rock formations – is outlawed by lawmakers or deemed “commercially impracticable,” Dow Jones reports.
Regarding the ongoing debate on whether or not the practice pollutes water supplies, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has publicly stated he wouldn’t favor a ban on fracking.
"I think it can be done responsibly, and the [Environmental Protection Agency] and other agencies will be looking to ensure it's done safely and responsibly," says Chu. "If [natural gas] can be extracted in an environmentally safe way, then why would you want to ban it?"
The EPA would be required through House and Senate legislation to regulate fracking under the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974, according to Dow Jones. The laws would also require public disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking fluid that are injected into the ground to help companies access natural gas.
Learn more at: CNN Money
(Edited by Gabe Perna)