Beware of federalizing 'fracking'

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Washington Examiner:

President Obama recently signed an executive order creating a task force to coordinate the efforts of several government agencies considering regulations on hydraulic fracturing. Though some have welcomed the order as a way to standardize myriad state approaches, federalization is far more likely to cause overregulation and a new open-ended political lever against our domestic energy supply.

Fracking, as it is often called, is a technology that makes possible the production of vast amounts of U.S. oil and natural gas, creating thousands of jobs and lowering energy costs across the economy. This boom makes government-dependent ethanol a homegrown boondoggle.

Thanks to deep-shale-gas fractionation, the U.S. now has an estimated 100-year supply of clean-burning fuel. As supplies have increased, the price has fallen, a godsend to residential and industrial consumers.

Fracking also is coaxing crude oil and natural gas liquids from the Eagle Ford formation in Texas and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana. As more domestic oil is produced, less is imported, reducing the U.S. trade deficit and strengthening the value of the dollar. Increased supplies will also put downward pressure on gasoline, diesel and fuel-oil prices at home and abroad.

President Obama wants to take credit for the U.S. energy boom, noting that U.S. oil production has climbed to an eight-year high during his term in office. But his administration has been criticized for doing virtually everything in its power to hinder hydraulic fracturing.

Some 10 government departments and agencies are considering regulations to control unconventional oil and natural gas production. Leading the charge is the Environmental Protection Agency with proposed rules on wellhead emissions, and the Interior Department, which is preparing new regulations for fracking on public lands. Additionally, the administration's 2013 budget proposes a 10-fold increase in the funds available for studying fracking's impact on health, safety and the environment.

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Germany is about to shut down fracking. I guess Europe wants to continue to depend on Russia for their oil/gas.