These 160 national, regional, state and local organizations, including conservation, faith, sportsmen and community organizations, have signed a letter urging members of the joint houses of Congress to co-sponsor S. 1215/ H.R. 2766, the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act.
National Organizations
American Rivers
Center for Food Safety
Earthjustice
Earthworks/Oil and Gas Accountability Project
Environment America
Environmental Working Group
Food & Water Watch
International Center for Technology Assessment
National Alliance for Drilling Reform
National Audubon Society
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Public Citizen's Energy Program
Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc.
The Wilderness Society
Trout Unlimited
Waterkeeper Alliance
Regional Organizations
Appalachian Mountain Club
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Delaware River Greenway Partnership
Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Highlands Coalition
Housatonic Valley Association
Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service
San Juan Citizens Alliance
Western Environmental Law Center
Western Organization of Resource Councils
WildEarth Guardians
State Organizations
Alabama - Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Arizona - Environment Arizona
Arkansas
Arkansas Conservation Alliance
Citizens Against Resource Exploitation (CARE)
Omni Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology
California
Ballona Network
Californians for Western Wilderness
Environment California
Grassroots Coalition
Colorado
Colorado Environmental Coalition
EcoFlight
Environment Colorado
Grand Valley Citizens Alliance
Majors Ranch Property Owners Association Environmental Impact Committee
Navajo Ranch Clean Water Preservation Committee
North Fork Ranch Landowner's Association
San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council
San Luis Valley Water Protection Coalition
The Citizen's Alliance for Responsible Urban Gas Drilling
Western Colorado Congress
Wilderness Workshop
Connecticut - Environment Connecticut
Florida - Environment Florida
Georgia
Citizens Organized for Pipeline Safety (COPS)
Environment Georgia
Illinois - Environment Illinois
Iowa - Environment Iowa
Louisiana - Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper
Maine - Environment Maine
Maryland - Environment Maryland
Massachusetts - Environment Massachusetts
Michigan
Citizens Against Environmental Destruction
Environment Michigan
Minnesota - Environment Minnesota
Montana - Environment Montana
Northern Plains Resource Council
Nevada - Environment Nevada
New Hampshire - Environment New Hampshire
New Jersey - Environment New Jersey
New Mexico
Blancett Ranches
Common Ground United
Drilling Santa Fe
Environment New Mexico
Gila Resources Information Project
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
New Mexico Wildlife Federation
Velasquez Ranch
New York
Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc.
Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition
Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy
Catskill Mountainkeeper
Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Environment New York
Environmental Advocates of New York
Hudson Highlands Land Trust
Hudson Riverkeeper
New Yorkers for Sustainable Energy Statewide
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, Inc.
NYH2O
Orange County Land Trust
Orange Environment, Inc.
PlanPutnam.Org
Putnam County Coalition to Preserve Open Space
Scenic Hudson
Shaleshock
The Ramapo River Watershed Intermunicipal Council
Theodore Gordon Flyfishers, Inc.
North Carolina - Environment North Carolina
North Dakota - Dakota Resource Council
Ohio
East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, Environmental Action Group
Environment Ohio
Mentor Lagoons Preservation Committee
Northeast Ohio Gas Accountability Project
Oregon - Environment Oregon
Pennsylvania
Allegheny Defense Project
Berks County Conservancy
Cooks Creek Watershed Association
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability
Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
Gaia Defense League
Green Valleys Association
Juniata Valley Audubon
Mountain Watershed Association
PennEnvironment
Pennsylvania Forest Coalition
Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers
Sagamore Estates Property Owners Association
Schmid & Company, Inc., Consulting Ecologists
Twin & Walker Creeks Watershed Conservancy
Twin and Walker Lakes Communities Coalition
Twin and Walker Lakes Watershed Conservancy
Twin Lake Preserve
Twin Lake Woods Property Owners Association
Twin Lakes Conservancy Inc.
Twin Lakes Property Owners Association
Walker Lake Landowner's Association
Youghiogheny Riverkeeper
Rhode Island - Environment Rhode Island
Texas
Blue Wind Partners
Citizens for Environmental Clean-Up
Environment Texas
Family Area Ministry & Education
Flower Mound Citizens Against Urban Drilling
Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Operations (FWCanDo)
Galveston Baykeeper
PARCHED
Texas Oil and Gas Accountability Project
Unity Church of Fort Worth
WE CAN (Working Effectively for Clean Air Now)
Utah Colorado Riverkeeper
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Virginia
Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Program
Environment Virginia
Washington - Environment Washington
West Virginia
Greenbrier River Watershed Association
West Virginia Citizen Action Group
West Virginia Headwaters Waterkeeper
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
West Virginia Surface Owners' Rights Organization
Wetzel County Action Group
Wisconsin - Wisconsin Environment
Wyoming
Biodiversity Conservation Alliance
Clark Resource Council
Equality State Policy Center
Friends of a Legacy
Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens
Powder River Basin Resource Council
Upper Green River Valley Coalition
Wyoming Conservation Voters
Wyoming Outdoor Council
This important legislation would repeal an exemption in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for an oil and gas technique called hydraulic fracturing. It would also require public disclosure of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids.
According to a Wilderness Society press release: “When it comes to the public’s health, it is not unreasonable to require the oil and gas industry to disclose the toxic chemicals they use in our local communities,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO). “The oil and gas industry has one of the only exceptions under the Safe Drinking Water Act that frees them from federal oversight and disclosure. With people getting sick from contaminated water sources potentially due to frac’ing, the public’s safety is paramount.” Rep. DeGette introduced the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (or “FRAC Act”) in the House with Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO). Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced the bill in the Senate.
“While hydraulic fracturing has been used for decades, the chemicals used in this process are known toxins that inherently present risks to drinking water supplies," said Rep. Hinchey. “Natural gas drilling certainly has its place as part of a comprehensive energy plan, but it must be done in a way that does not jeopardize public health and put the environment at risk for decades and centuries to come.”
Join these organizations and urge your senators and representativesto support the FRAC Act!
According to Bruce Baizel, senior staff attorney with Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project, based in Durango, Colorado, ... recent state hearings in Colorado revealed that the oil and gas industry has caused more than 300 instances of contaminated water in Colorado since 2003 and more than 700 instances in New Mexico, and no one has thoroughly investigated whether contamination is linked to hydraulic fracturing. Citizens in other states are also increasingly impacted and concerned that state regulations, investigations and response to complaints are not sufficient. ...
“My water well has been contaminated, and I believe it’s because EnCana drilled and fracked gas wells close to my well,” said Louis Meeks. “The state has done nothing but watch, while EnCana contaminated the ground water where we get our drinking water. EnCana ruined my well and now that they can’t fix it, they’ve walked away. That’s why we need federal oversight.”
“With increasing concern about climate change, it’s clear that natural gas is positioned to play a significant role in the nation’s energy picture,” said The Wilderness Society’s Dave Alberswerth. “But we need to improve the way natural gas is currently developed, so it doesn’t pollute water supplies and our atmosphere or damage wildlife habitat. Natural gas will not be a viable ‘bridge fuel’ from a health and environment perspective until we factor in the true environmental cost of its development and begin to use safe, twenty-first century technologies.”
For the complete press release, including links to further resources and pdf files, CLICK HERE.
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
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