Senators introduce legislation requiring more transparency in fracking

A group of Senate Democrats recently reintroduced the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act), which would require the disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing processes and increase environmental protections related to fracking.

Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Al
Franken (D-MN), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin
(D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) cosponsored the bill.

The FRAC Act would require the natural gas industry to disclose everything used in a fracking operation before and after the process. This information would then be made public on a website. The bill would also require hydraulic to once again be included in the Safe Drinking Water Act and allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct more thorough oversight of hydraulic fracturing by closing a 2005 loophole.

“People have a right to know what’s being pumped into the ground in their communities, and if the chemicals being injected have the potential to leach into a community’s water supply, they need to be disclosed,” Reed said. “We need to hold fracking operators and drilling companies accountable and ensure that the process for extracting natural gas is done safely, responsibly, and with adequate oversight by environmental protections. This legislation will ensure that fracking won’t occur at the expense of public health and the environment.”