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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Phyllis Mundy |
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Mundy introduces Marcellus
Shale legislative package
HARRISBURG, June 23 – State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Luzerne, today formally introduced three measures to help protect public safety and monitor the fast-growing Marcellus Shale drilling industry.
House Bill 2608 would prohibit natural gas drilling companies that use fracking or horizontal drilling from drilling wells within 2,500 feet of a primary source of supply for a community water system, such as a lake or reservoir. The current restriction is only 100 feet.
"Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have the potential to seriously pollute our natural resources," Mundy said. "I have heard from hundreds of constituents concerned with drilling near public water supplies such as the Huntsville and Ceasetown reservoirs. My bill would establish a much-needed buffer under and around water sources in an effort to keep contaminants from entering our water supplies."
House Resolution 864 would urge Congress to pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act. The act would repeal a provision in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act that exempts oil and gas drilling industries from restrictions on hydraulic fracturing operations located near drinking water sources, a provision known as the "Halliburton Loophole." The FRAC Act would also require oil and gas industries to disclose all hydraulic fracturing chemicals and chemical constituents currently considered proprietary rights of the company.
House Bill 2609 would establish a one-year moratorium on the issuance of new natural gas drilling permits to give the General Assembly and Commonwealth more time to put appropriate protections into law and regulation.