The article considers the problems associated with environmental risks in hydraulic fracturing and substantiates the necessity of careful planning of hydraulic fracturing operation before its implementation to minimize these risks. It is shown that in many cases it can be replaced by effective environmentally safe methods of impact on the borehole zone of the reservoir, and the result from their application is often more significant than when using hydraulic fracturing. The technology of directed unloading reservoir developed on the basis of geomechanical approach is given as an example.