Industry Defends Drilling, Ignores Water Contamination
Published on Friday, June 5, 2009 by ProPublica
Industry Defends Federal Loophole for Drilling Before Packed Congressional Hearing
by Abrahm Lustgarten
In a packed and sometimes contentious hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, representatives of the oil and gas industry and their state regulators vigorously defended the practice of injecting toxic fluids underground without federal regulatory oversight.
The House Energy and Minerals subcommittee called the hearing to explore the economic and environmental risks associated with the practice, called hydraulic fracturing, after a string of reports of water contamination related to drilling across the country were reported by ProPublica Hydraulic fracturing is currently exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act, but both the House and Senate are drawing up legislation that would close the Bush-era loophole and reinstate the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority over the fracturing process. (more…)
