Lois Barber
Across America oil and gas companies are pumping enormous quantities of secret toxic chemicals deep underground, and the EPA is powerless to do anything about it.
- The process of fracking means pumping millions of gallons of water, chemicals, and sand into shale rock formations at high pressures to shatter the rock and release the gas. Fracking a single gas well can use millions of gallons of water and hundreds of tons of chemicals. Companies don't have to disclose the chemicals in their pumping fluids to the EPA, and the process is exempt from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
- Senate Bill S.587, the FRAC (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals) Act, would correct both these problems. It has been in the Senate since 2009 and needs more Senators to support it.
- The oil and gas industry is the only industry in America that is allowed by the EPA to inject known hazardous materials—unchecked—underground adjacent to drinking water supplies.
- Fracking is underway in 36 states. Some have regulations but they vary widely—and water doesn’t follow state boundaries. Drillers are rushing to use the technique in new areas without adequate government oversight that fully evaluates the effects on human health and the environment. Fracking depletes local water sources, and can poison drinking water, rivers, and lakes from toxic underground leaks and above ground spills. There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination near drilling sites around the country.
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- Web: www.senate.gov
- Tel: 202 224-3121 (Capitol switchboard)
- Mail:
- Senator (first name & last name)
- US Senate
- Washington, DC 20510
- Urge them to co-sponsor the FRAC Act, S. 587, that would allow the EPA to regulate fracking and force companies to disclose the chemicals they use. Tell them we need a national standard, and a way to monitor and enforce compliance to make sure fracking chemicals are publicly disclosed, and to prevent contamination of our nation’s drinking water and environment.
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- 2020 is joining with Greenpeace, CREDO Action, Food & Water Watch and many other groups in calling for this action. Add your voice! For additional information about fracking and the FRAC Act:
- 1. CREDO Action: http://www.credoaction.com/campaign/frac_act/?rc=homepage
- 2."Fracking," Food and Water Watch.
- 3. "Hydraulic Fracturing 101," EARTHWORKS.
- 4. "Burning Tap Water and More: GASLAND Exposes the Natural Gas Industry," Treehugger, June 25, 2010.
- 5. "Regulation Lax as Gas Wells' Tainted Water Hits Rivers," New York Times, February 26, 2011</font>
- 6. S. 587: The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act
- Photo credit: Peaches, 2008, Lois Barber.
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