Americans Against Fracking

Americans Against Fracking is a coalition of over 200 national, state, and local organizations dedicated to banning fracking for oil and natural gas.

Food & Water Watch

Food & Water Watch as a leading consumer advocacy group that works to ensure the food and water is safe and sustainable, that corporations are held accountable, and that the U.S. government works to protect the public, not special interest profits.

Common Cause

Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest, and accountable government that works for the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard.

Natural Resources Defense Council

NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action organization, using law, science and the support of 1.3 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.

The Environmental Working Group

EWG is a government watchdog that uses the power of information to protect public health and the environment. EWG specializes in providing research-driven resources to consumers and lawmakers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change.

Earthworks - Oil and Gas Accountability Project

Earthworks OGAP is the only program in the United States with the sole mission of working with tribal, urban and rural communities to protect their homes and the environment from the devastating impacts of oil and gas development.

Earthjustice

Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. Earthjustice works through the courts on behalf of citizen groups, scientists, and other parties to ensure government agencies and private interests follow the law.

Riverkeeper

Founded in 1966 by residents along the Hudson River, Riverkeeper advocates for standards for waterway and watershed protection. The group is currently leading the charge to ban natural gas drilling in the NYC Watershed.

Catskill Mountainkeeper

Catskill Mountainkeeper is a community based environmental advocacy organization, dedicated to creating a flourishing sustainable economy in the Catskills and preserving and protecting the area's long term health.

Damascus Citizens for Sustainability

This grassroots group in Damascus, PA seeks to protect the Upper Delaware River Basin and beyond from the threats posed by deep-shale gas extraction.

Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act -

S.1215 / H.R. 2766

Sponsored by Bill Casey D-PA in the U.S. Senate and Diana DeGette, D-Colo. in the U.S. House of Representatives, these twin bills amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) repeal the exemption from restrictions on underground injection of fluids near drinking water sources granted to hydraulic fracturing operations under such Act; and (2) require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. For more information, check out this blog from ProPublica.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005

According to the EPA, the 2005 Energy Policy Act excluded hydraulic fracturing of coal bed methane from SDWA [Safe Drinking Water Act] jurisdiction. No other state has been required to regulate the practice under the UIC [Underground Injection Control] Program.

Safe Water Drinking Act

Enacted in 1974, the SWDA ensures the quality of Americans' drinking water. The Act authorized the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. The Act also allowed the EPA to develop minimum federal requirements for Underground Injection Control.

Clean Water Act

Enacted in 1972 as the first comprehensive national clean water law, the goal of the CWA was to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nations waters.

READING

Methane and the Greenhouse-Gas Footprint of Natural Gas from Shale Formations A letter - Climatic Change - by Robert W. Howarth, Renee Santoro, Anthony Ingraffea, March, 2011

Protecting New Yorks Air, Land, Water and People - Whats the Hydro-Fracking Rush?  by The Citizens Campaign, January, 2010

Chemicals in Natural Gas Operations  Spreadsheets and Summaries by State - by The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Founding President Dr. Theo Colburn, April, 2009

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, 1962

TERMS

Hydraulic Fracturing Fracking - Hydraulic fracturing is the injection of fluid under pressure to facilitate the production of oil and natural gas.

Produced Water  The briny solution contained in reservoirs of oil and gas is known as "formation water." During drilling, a mixture of oil, gas, and formation water is pumped to the surface. The water is separated from the oil and gas into tanks or pits, where it is referred to as "produced water."

Source: The Environmental Protection Agency