The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, known as the FRAC Act, is an important piece of legislation that would repeal the exemption in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for an oil and gas technique called hydraulic fracturing. I wrote about this bill in previous blog posts.
Now 160 organizations from across the country, including national, regional, state and local organizations, have signed a letter urging members of Congress to co-sponsor the FRAC Act (S. 1215/ H.R. 2766). The signers are not just environmental advocates; they include conservation, faith, sportsmen and community organizations. These groups come from 35 states and make clear that it is not just folks in Colorado or New York that are concerned about the risks to human health and the environment from hydraulic fracturing.
Oil and gas production occurs in over 30 states (you can see how many wells are in your state in our latest map). Recent reports of contamination have come from Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Wyoming, Texas, Ohio, and more.
The FRAC Act continues to gain co-sponsors. If your Representative or Senator is not a co-sponsor, you can send them a letter asking them to support the FRAC Act from NRDC's website. Along with your own letter, you can also send them the letter signed by 160 organizations from around the country.