Former Obama official: Fracking never been an environmental problem

Former Obama official: Fracking never been an environmental problem

Posted on February 5, 2014 at 10:05 am by Ryan Holeywell

Then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar speaks at the White House in 2012. (AP file)

HOUSTON — Former U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar said Wednesday morning that he believes hydraulic fracturing is safe, and the energy industry should work to convince the public that it doesn’t pose a safety threat.
Salazar spoke in Houston at the North American Prospect Expo, a three-day conference where landowners from around the globe look to make deals with oil, gas and pipeline companies.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of oil and gas production that flushes large volumes of high-pressure water, sand and chemicals deep underground. It has generated enormous controversy in communities across the country on concerns that it might pollute groundwater and cause other environmental problems.
“From my opinion and from what I’ve seen … I believe hydraulic fracking is, in fact, safe,” Salazar said.
Salazar, who represented Colorado in the senate for four years before joining the cabinet, said the oil and gas industry must work to educate the public of the technology and “make sure people are not scared.”
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“We know that, from everything we’ve seen, there’s not a single case where hydraulic fracking has created an environmental problem for anyone,” Salazar said. “We need to make sure that story is told.”
The former cabinet official also hinted that the energy industry may be to blame for some of the opposition to fracking, citing some companies’ reluctance to disclose the chemical makeup of the liquids they use in the process. He said people are scared of the unknown and suggested more disclosure could ease some of those concerns.
Salazar said fracking, in part, is the reason the country has enjoyed a energy boom that has helped move it towards energy independence and reduced the price of fuel.
“We’re creating a secure world for ourselves and for our children,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Ohio or Pennsylvania or California or right here at this convention in Houston,” he said. “Letting people know this kind of information … is very important for us.”
Salazar also said he believes the Keystone XL Pipeline should be built.
“At the end of the day, we are going to be consuming that oil,” Salazar said. “So is it better for us to get the oil from our good neighbor from the north, or to be bringing it from some place in the Middle East?”