Today the EPA announced the formation of the Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel. The press release from the EPA, including the members on the Committee, is linked here.  You will note there is no one from New Mexico on the Committee. There are, however, several folks from the Colorado Institute of Mines.  The individuals from industry include consultants who are former employees of Shell, Halliburton, Talisman formerly with BP, Merck Pharmaceuticals, and Thermo-Fischer, which is an environmental engineering firm out of California.  There are 31 members of the panel including 21 academics.  All the members of the Panel are very qualified experts in their respective fields.  It is my hope that these scientists will develop sound policy on the hydraulic fracturing issue so that we can finally put this issue behind us and move on to more relevant policy discussions on energy development.