Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) signaled on Tuesday that he will seek to require new EPA regulation of a controversial onshore natural gas drilling technique in the upcoming Senate energy bill.

Casey’s effort is sure to face heavy resistance from energy producers that have warned the EPA rules would create new costs that makes some gas production uneconomical.

Casey is pushing legislation that would bring new Safe Drinking Water Act controls over “hydraulic fracturing,” or “fracking,” which involves high-pressure injections of chemicals, water and sand to break apart rock formations and enable trapped gas to flow.

The technique has helped enable a boom in development of gas from shale rock formations in a number of states, including Pennsylvania. The viability of shale gas has helped boost U.S. proven gas reserves to their highest level in more than 30 years, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

But it has also brought concerns about contamination of groundwater and drinking water supplies. Casey’s bill would end an exemption from certain EPA rules contained in a 2005 energy statute, and would also compel new disclosure of chemicals that companies are using.

Read more in The Hill

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