DENVER—Colorado’s governor is proposing new rules requiring oil and gas drillers to publicly disclose the ingredients of their hydraulic fracturing fluids, even though he believes there is almost no chance the fluids are contaminating water wells.
Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the plan Tuesday at a Colorado Oil & Gas Association conference in Denver.
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking involves injecting fluids deep underground to make it easier to extract oil and gas.
Hickenlooper also proposed a voluntary program to test groundwater around oil and gas wells before and after drilling to check for signs of contamination.
He said that testing would be paid for by the industry but performed by a third party. Results would be recorded by the state health department.
