We call upon the President and Congress to protect our health and our environment by closing the loopholes in the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act that exempt hydrofracturing (fracking) for natural gas from appropriate regulation.
Why is this important?
Natural gas is extracted by pressurized injection of fluids below the water table through deep rock using hydrofracturing or "fracking" technology. The process requires millions of gallons of water per well and produces equal quantities of waste water that is contaminated with benzene, radium and other pollutants known to cause serious health problems. At least half of the waste water enters water treatment plants that cannot remove the contaminants. Additionally, transport of water and gas results in truck traffic of 1000 trips per well, creating increased local air pollution. Fracking is currently exempt from the Clean air and Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts. We call upon the President and Congress to protect our precious air and water resources by closing the loopholes that exempt fracking for natural gas from appropriate regulation.
