GOP Opposes Federal Fracking Regs REGARDLESS of Whether EPA Finds Poisoning

http://www.openleft.com/diary/19609/defining-extremism-gop-opposes-federal-fracking-regs-regardless-of-whether-epa-finds-poisoning

by: David Sirota
Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 12:19

As natural gas exploration expands throughout our energy starved nation - from the West and now into the South and Northeast - many folks living in drilling country are rightfully expressing concern that their groundwater may be susceptible to pollution from the fracking fluids that are central to drilling operations. These are very legitimate fears, as HBO's critically acclaimed documentary "Gasland" so graphically shows. And yet, to date, the Republican Party has expressed a rather callous "drill first, never ask questions later" attitude - callous, even for the GOP.

During the Bush years, Republicans managed to legislate an exemption for fracking fluid into the Clean Water Act. Then, Republicans in Congress blocked the proposed FRAC Act, which wouldn't even ban fracking fluid - it would simply require drilling companies to disclose what's in the fluids they are pumping into the earth near critical groundwater supplies. And now, in perhaps the most extreme step yet, Republicans here in Colorado (a state with one of the biggest natural gas reserves in the world) are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency never regulate fracking, regardless of whether or not the agency discovers that fracking is poisoning people.

As natural gas exploration expands throughout our energy starved nation - from the West and now into the South and Northeast - many folks living in drilling country are rightfully expressing concern that their groundwater may be susceptible to pollution from the fracking fluids that are central to drilling operations. These are very legitimate fears, as HBO's critically acclaimed documentary "Gasland" so graphically shows. And yet, to date, the Republican Party has expressed a rather callous "drill first, never ask questions later" attitude - callous, even for the GOP.

During the Bush years, Republicans managed to legislate an exemption for fracking fluid into the Clean Water Act. Then, Republicans in Congress blocked the proposed FRAC Act, which wouldn't even ban fracking fluid - it would simply require drilling companies to disclose what's in the fluids they are pumping into the earth near critical groundwater supplies. And now, in perhaps the most extreme step yet, Republicans here in Colorado (a state with one of the biggest natural gas reserves in the world) are demanding the Environmental Protection Agency never regulate fracking, regardless of whether or not the agency discovers that fracking is poisoning people.

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