Snyder Farm Group in New York seeks permission for waterless fracking

Snyder Farm Group, a group of five farmers from Barton in New York, US, has sought permission from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to frack for natural gas using gelled propane and sand.

The farm families’ propose to use propane and sand, instead of water, challenges the state imposed restrictions for high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

The landowners have signed an agreement with Tioga Energy Partners, allowing it to collect gas from 53 acres of land jointly owned by them, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The energy firm had filed an application with the state authorities for developing a natural-gas well at the site where it intends to use liquid-petroleum gas (LPG) to open up fissures in the rock.

Tioga Energy Partners legal counsel Adam Schultz said: "We are outside of the state’s ban.

"The state banned high-volume hydraulic fracturing, but that’s not what we’re doing."

New York authorities will conduct a thorough review of the proposal before reverting back for it.

DEC spokes person Tom Mailey was quoted by Associated Press as saying: "DEC will follow the mandates in the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which could include requiring an Environmental Impact Statement."

Following a seven year review process, the state had imposed a ban on large-scale hydraulic fracturing on June 29. The prohibition is applicable for fracking operations that use over 300,000 gallons of water.

Use of propane for fracturing can eliminate the use of gallons of freshwater used for traditional procedures.

The process has, however, not been widely used in the natural gas industry; Canadian firm Gasfrac Energy Services being the only known proponent for it.

Environmental groups also oppose to LPG fracking, claiming it to be as risky as the water-based variant.