coal bed methane.jpg

This map shows areas of potential coal bed methane reserves in Oregon.

((courtesy DOGAMI))

The Oregon House passed a bill Tuesday that would place a 10-year ban on fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, by those drilling for oil or natural gas in the state.

The bill is symbolic at this point, as no one is actually using the controversial technique in Oregon. But it has been employed in the past and could be again if developers look to exploit coal bed methane reserves that are potentially spread through Western Oregon, including much of the Willamette Valley.

Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting millions of gallons of fluid into wells under pressure to fracture rock formations and prop open the fissures, which allows gas and oil to flow more freely. The fluid is typically a mixture of water, sand and other chemicals, and the technique is used in shale and coal bed methane formations to make them more permeable - and ultimately more profitable places to drill.

Along with horizontal drilling techniques, fracking is responsible for the natural gas and oil drilling boom that has upended the U.S. energy market. But it is a highly controversial practice that opponents link to groundwater contamination, massive water consumption and the triggering of earthquakes in states where it has been used extensively.

Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, called House Bill 2711 a precautionary measure. He introduced legislation in 2015 that would have directed the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to develop tighter rules around hydraulic fracturing. But the bill never passed, and the rulemaking was estimated to cost $750,000. Since the Legislature is doing everything on the cheap this session, he said he reintroduced the bill with the 10-year moratorium and no rulemaking.

"I'm just proposing pushing a pause button on this type of exploration in the state," he told lawmakers.

Proponents maintain that the practice is highly regulated, environmentally safe and a boon for producers and consumers. The Western States Petroleum Association submitted testimony for an earlier public hearing that said the practice wasn't new, untested or dangerous, and had been safely used to enhance the production of energy for more than 60 years.

The only producing gas field in Oregon today is near the town of Mist, in northwest Oregon. But it's a conventional resource drilled in sandstone that doesn't need to be fracked.

The U.S. Geological Survey has indicated there are potential coalbed methane reserves under a big stretch of Western Oregon, including much of the Willamette Valley. Though there is no active exploration today, about five coalbed methane wells were hydraulically fractured in Coos County in 2005 and 2006, according to the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. They ultimately were deemed unviable and plugged with cement, and there is no indication of environmental damage from the drilling, the agency said.

Companies also have discovered gas in the Snake River Basin, along the border of Idaho. There are active wells in Idaho, and a Texas company, Alta Mesa Holdings, has leased land in Malheur County, near Ontario, to potentially drill there.

Those formations are also sandstone, so they can be developed without fracking. But the company's law firm submitted testimony saying that the bills could prevent "low-volume well stimulation activities" that are a standard part of conventional drilling operations. "At the minimum, the bill should be amended so as not to impede conventional oil and gas wellbore operations," the letter said.

Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, made the same point in his floor speech Tuesday. He noted that Oregon uses an enormous amount of imported gas today, and could be producing its own, generating royalties and revenues. At the very least, he said, lawmakers needed to tighten up the language so it didn't dissuade companies from developing the resource in Oregon.

Environmental groups back the bill, which will now head to the Senate.

"We cannot stand by and ignore the hazards that fracking could bring to our state, so we believe a moratorium is entirely appropriate," Rhett Lawrence, the conservation director for the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club said in written testimony.

- Ted Sickinger

503-221-8505; @tedsickinger