Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses huge volumes of water mixed with dangerous chemicals to blast open rock formations and extract oil and gas. From Pennsylvania to California, our prized public lands have become targets for fracking developers.
Rocky Mountain National Park is already suffering from air-quality problems due to drilling and fracking on nearby public lands. The Bureau of Land Management in Colorado plans to auction off nearly 12,000 acres of public lands for oil and gas drilling -- and the majority of those acres are located less than 10 miles from Mesa Verde, another of our iconic national parks.
The best way to protect these national treasures along with our air, water, health and climate from the dangers of fracking is to simply prohibit this form of fuel extraction. Where better to start than by protecting public lands?
Tell the Bureau of Land Management that this land is our land, not fracking land.
To Whom it May Concern:
I am deeply concerned that the Bureau of Land Management's new draft fracking rule is even weaker than the previous version. The regulations seem designed to encourage as much fracking as possible, while doing little to protect the environment or public health.
There are many egregious flaws in the BLM's revised draft fracking regulations:
1. They expand "trade secrets" loopholes and allow well operators to avoid disclosing use of dangerous fracking chemicals.
2. They only require oil and gas companies to report the chemicals used that are not claimed to be trade secrets -- and only after fracking has already taken place.
3. They provide little regulatory protection for air, water and climate. The regulations do nothing to protect people living near fracked wells from air pollutants that increase risks of cancer and respiratory illness. They do not protect residents from exposure or contamination by the large volume of toxic wastewater fracking produces.
4. There is no requirement to collect and disclose baseline data on air and water quality needed for effective regulation.
5. The rules even ignore the advice of the Obama administration's advisory board.
[Your comments here]
The best way to protect our revered public lands and our air, water, health and climate from fracking is to prohibit this inherently dangerous form of fossil fuel extraction. Please ban fracking on public land.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
