TAKE ACTION – Tell Congress to Force Disclosure of Toxic Drilling Chemicals

A controversial natural gas drilling technique is suspected of contaminating drinking water [1] across the country, but more research cannot be done because the drilling companies won't disclose what toxic chemicals they are pumping into the ground. Congress is now considering legislation [2] that would force drillers to disclose what chemicals they are using, but it needs our support [3] against Big Oil and Gas.

Earthworks [4], a nonprofit advocate for more accountable and less destructive mining and drilling, has launched a campaign to pass the FRAC Act [3], a bill that would close the so-called "Halliburton loophole" in the Safe Drinking Water Act that allows oil and gas drillers to inject hazardous materials directly into or adjacent to underground drinking water supplies, with no accountability.
 
Hydraulic fracturing is used in more than 30 states, from New York to Wyoming. Known as "fracking," the process pumps fluids at extremely high pressure underground to create cracks though which natural gas can flow and be extracted. A loophole inserted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 allows companies to keep secret what chemicals they use. Studies have identified a long list of toxics [5] that may be included in these fracking fluids, and numerous cases of drinking water contamination [6] have been documented.
 
States are struggling to fend off this powerful industry and regulate the process. Federal action is needed to bring drillers into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. Take a moment to tell your representatives [3] that you want to know what secret chemicals might be threatening our drinking water.