"The Obama administration is inching ahead with a plan that would allow wastewater from fracking to be shipped on barges, fueling a debate whether it is safer than other transportation modes or risks polluting drinking water."

"The Coast Guard last month quietly sent to the White House's Office of Management and Budget a proposal to allow the barging of fracking wastewater. If the plan is pushed forward, it would become a proposed rule open for public comment and could be finalized sometime in the near future.

Energy analysts say action on the barge issue could be a hint at how the Obama administration will approach fracking regulation in the coming years."

Timothy Gardner reports for Reuters April 4, 2013. [2]