In support of the FRAC Act

By Dr. Ralph Lioppa

The Twin & Walker Creeks Watershed Conservancy located in Northeastern Pennsylvania asks for your support for the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2009, the “FRAC Act.”

Gas drilling, using the method known as hydraulic fracturing, has sparked much passion on both sides of the issue. Our conservancy endeavors to avoid the extremes and has been focusing on the facts. Although facts are not easy to come by amidst the hubbub surrounding this subject, recently, certain things have become crystal clear.

First, as Pennsylvania residents become educated about the process of hydraulic fracturing, concerns are rising about how to regulate the industry to make sure gas extraction is conducted in a responsible manner and how that extraction will be monitored. It is becoming clear that proper regulation and monitoring has not been effectively carried out on the state level and that, as recent budget cuts have come into play, effective state regulation and monitoring by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in the future will be an impossibility. With regard to a well that will be drilled this year in DuBois by the Carrizo Oil & Gas Company, John Hamilton of the DEP said that, with the department’s reduced staff, a representative probably wouldn’t make it to the drilling site during the entirety of the project, but would make some checks. He said, “You want to be careful in your lease and maybe put some extra protective measures.”

Second, although there have been countless reports from homeowners across the country concerning contamination of well water from the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, there is no way for any regulatory agency to follow up on the claims because of the gas and oil industry’s exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act. The chemicals used in the fracking process need to be made public, and the EPA needs to have the authority to look into these claims. Gas companies’ concerns about proprietary information can be met by not disclosing the specific quantities of individual chemicals, although that information is in the public interest. Those wishing to sign leases with the gas companies need that same information in order to put into their leases the right and most effective “extra protective measure.”

Third, but certainly not least, in the case of an accidental spill at a work site, the medical community needs to know what chemicals are being used before they arrive at the scene. A website on which the chemicals used at each hydro-fracking location are listed publicly would be a great help to those who would need to tend to victims in a medical emergency.

The people of Pennsylvania and indeed the entire country have a right to transparency concerning the chemicals used in gas drilling. We can see no down side to the passing of the FRAC Act. The gas industry needs to follow the same regulations as all other industries in the country by reversing their exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act. This is not a partisan issue—it is a common-sense issue. We ask that you co-sponsor, or ask your Representative to co-sponsor, the FRAC Act.

Thank you.

[Dr. Ralph Lioppa is president of the Twin & Walker Creeks Watershed Conservancy, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania.]