Petroleum group spent $1.9M on lobbying in 3Q

[December 19, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American Petroleum Institute spent $1.9 million in the third quarter to lobby the federal government on hydraulic fracturing and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

That's up from the $1.82 million that the trade group spent in the year-ago period, but less than the $2 million it spent in the second quarter of this year. API also lobbied the federal government on legislation involving offshore oil drilling, clean water and air standards, financial regulatory reform, and other issues, according to the report filed on Oct. 20.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique that energy companies use to break up underground rock layers and release the natural gas trapped inside. The method, which uses industrial chemicals and huge amounts of water, has been criticized for potentially polluting groundwater supplies.

Environmental groups and residents have fought the industry's use of fracking in parts of the United States, and the federal government has been investigating the technique. A preliminary finding by the Environmental Protection Agency found this month that chemicals associated with fracking have been found in Wyoming.

The industry disputes the EPA's findings.

In the July-to-September period, the trade group lobbied Congress, the EPA, the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Environmental Quality, the National Economic Council, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the departments of energy, transportation, interior, according to the report filed with the House clerk's office.

[Associated Press]

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