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This week’s reintroduction of the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act) in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate is a good step towards protecting consumers from the dangers of hydraulic fracturing. The process of extracting gas from rock formations, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is often called, relies on a chemical cocktail that can be toxic if leaked into our drinking water.

“Federal oversight of hydraulic fracturing is almost nonexistent. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempts fracking from the section of the Safe Drinking Water Act that protects groundwater from chemical contamination. The FRAC Act would reverse this dangerous loophole and allow the federal government to take much-needed steps to protect the public.

“We applaud Rep. DeGette (D-CO), Rep. Polis (D-CO), Rep. Hinchey (D-NY) and Sen. Casey (D-PA) for their commitment to ensuring the safety of drinking water supplies. The reintroduction of this act, combined with the recent state-wide temporary moratorium in New York, and a ban pending in the New Jersey legislature, signal that the public does not want this destructive, polluting process anywhere near their water.