ARTICLE · 22 FEBRUARY 2012

White House Budget Proposal Allocates $45 Million To Study Hydraulic Fracturing

Vinson & Elkins LLP

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As part of its 2013 budget proposal, the White House is allocating $45 million among three federal agencies to study the effects of hydraulic fracturing on health, safety, and the environment.

United StatesEnvironment

James Thompson, III

As part of its 2013 budget proposal, the White House is allocating $45 million among three federal agencies to study the effects of hydraulic fracturing on health, safety, and the environment. This figure represents an approximately ten-fold increase in the funds requested for investigation into hydraulic fracturing just last year.

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This increased funding is yet another indication that the industry should brace for the coming of a comprehensive federal regulatory scheme, and is, by any measure, significant because the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has very little direct authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing.

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