RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia advisory panel is recommending that energy companies disclose the chemical ingredients they use in horizontal fracking, a type of natural gas drilling that has spawned environmental concerns.
The proposal is among 14 recommendations that have been sent to Gov. Terry McAuliffe for review.
Besides the requirement on fracking ingredients, the recommendations also provide for greater safeguards for water supplies, testing of drilling equipment and water monitoring before drilling occurs. The latter is intended to better assess water quality before and after drilling occurs.
The review of Virginia laws involving hydraulic fracturing was sparked in part by a Dallas energy company's leasing of more than 80,000 acres south and east of Fredericksburg. Most of Virginia's natural gas drilling has occurred in the state's Coalfields region.
