In 2005, with the passage of the Energy Policy Act, the oil and gas industries were successful in convincing Congress and the Bush-Cheney administration to give them exemptions from the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act,

and the Right to Know Act. The last of these would allow the gas companies to keep proprietary— or secret—the chemicals used in hydrofracking their wells. Passage of this legislation was, according to the New York Times, at the behest of Dick Cheney and has become known as the “Haliburton Loophole.” We regularly hear of Congress bowing to special interests, but putting our drinking water at risk would appear to reach a new level for this unholy alliance. Passage of this legislation effectively removed the EPA from regulating the process of fracking. This left the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as the only official body to monitor and regulate the gas-well drilling, which is expected to increase exponentially to many thousands of wells in North Central PA, more than 10,000 just in Lycoming County. As this is happening, DEP's budget is being cut by 27%: a perfect storm for our natural resources. On June 9, Senator Casey of Pennsylvania along with Senator Schumer of New York introduced

the Fracturing Responsibilities and Awareness of Chemicals Act—the FRAC Act. A companion bill was introduced in the House. The bill, according to Senator Casey, would repeal the exemption to the Safe Drinking Water Act and would

require oil and gas companies to publicly disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. In introducing the bill, Senator Casey stated, “I believe that we have an obligation to develop the natural gas responsibly, to safeguard drinking water wells used by three million Pennsylvanians. We already have private wells contaminated by fluids used in hydraulic fracturing. We need to make sure that does not become a state-wide problem." The gas companies and their allies at both the state and federal levels represent powerful, well-connected opponents. But this is one battle that is clear-cut and can be won if the people who will be affected understand what is at stake and take action.