The Environmental Protection Agency wants to impose the first
ever pollution regulations onto oil and natural gas companies
that use hydraulic fracturing to drill. Commonly known as
"fracking," the drilling technique involves injecting water and
chemicals into wells to push out natural gas. On the its
website, the EPA calls the new set of rules "highly cost
effective" and describes the benefits: The proposed rules
include a requirement that would capture 95 percent [smog-
causing compounds] from wells that are hydraulically fractured.
This dramatic reduction would largely be accomplished through
capturing natural gas that currently escapes into the air, and
making that gas available for sale. The rules also would reduce
emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and air toxics,
which are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious
health effects. Capturing that extra natural gas will make the
oil and natural gas companies an extra $30 million, the EPA
predicts. Meanwhile, the new regulations wil