Press Releases

 Today, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright offered an amendment during the House Committee on Natural Resources full committee business hearing.  Although the amendment had bipartisan support, it failed by a vote of 26-14. 

Cartwright’s amendment would have ensured that the Natural Resources Committee would have the ability to subpoena all documents disclosing the composition and quantity of all chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing on public lands and Indian lands.  The amendment is a basic oversight measure that is critical to millions of people’s health and safety.

“There is mounting evidence that these chemicals are impacting our environment, our drinking water, and creating additional hazards,” said Cartwright.  “While the recent spill in West Virginia was not related to fracking, it is a good reminder of just how precious our drinking water is and that we should do whatever is in our power to protect it.”

According to the Interior Department, 90 percent of all new wells drilled on public lands now employ hydraulic fracturing.  However, regardless of the familiarity or prevalence of fracking and industry claims that the process is safe, we are still not being told the composition and quantity of all chemicals being used in this process.  Concealing this information not only prevents those harmed by the chemicals from knowing what they were exposed to, but also prevents comprehensive solutions to the dangers these chemicals present.

Additionally, the minimal disclosures contained on the website fracfocus.org are simply inadequate to fully understand what chemicals the fracking process involves.  Much of the information on this site is redacted and it is nearly impossible to aggregate data using this tool.

Ensuring that the fracking process is performed in an environmentally safe manner has been a top priority for Cartwright since being elected to Congress.  The first bill he introduced, the FRESHER Act, would close loopholes for oil and gas companies in the Clean Water Act, and has garnered 61 cosponsors.  Cartwright also introduced the CLEANER Act, which would ensure that oil and gas companies test their waste to determine if it is hazardous and, if so, dispose of it using the safe methods that other industries already employ.