Illinois Bill Signed into Law, But Fracking Should Not Proceed

SPRINGFIELD, IL (June 17, 2013) – Governor Pat Quinn signed new oil and gas regulations into law today that will put some  initial protections in place from the known dangers associated with fracking. The Natural Resources Defense Council continues to support a fracking moratorium in the state. The new rules, however, start to address a dangerous situation in Illinois where the controversial practice was occurring legally but essentially unregulated.

Following are comments from NRDC Midwest Director Henry Henderson:

“The state shouldn’t allow any fracking unless or until all the resources necessary to enforce strong protections are in place. That will take a lot of time.

“While we think it was essential to get protections in place to help protect citizens in this state, these rules are not enough and do not make fracking ‘safe.’ We will continue to work to improve the rules in this state.

“We have gone from a situation where anyone with $100 could demand a permit to frack from the state within 48 hours with almost no rules governing them, to one where some strong protections and restrictions will now be in place. The bill is not perfect, but the rights and protections given to the public in this law are an improvement over what would otherwise have been an untenable status quo.”