A group of Democrats are reviving a package of bills that would tighten federal regulations for oil and gas drilling, in a rebuttal to expected votes in the House to shore up the energy industry this week.
The five-bill package, dubbed the “Frack Pack,” aims to hold oil and gas companies accountable to national standards for air and water quality. It would also eliminate the so-called Halliburton Loophole, which has exempted fracking fluids from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2005.
“What all of us are hoping is that this will make the oil and gas industry comply with the same environmental regulations as anybody else,” said Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat and the sponsor of the “Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act.”
“If we’re going to be drilling, and if we’re going to be leaning in on drilling, we need to make sure we’re not contaminating our aquifers with harmful chemicals,” DeGette said.
