Bill Seeks To Protect Drinking Wells from Fracking

"A bill introduced earlier this month would bring federal oversight of hydraulic fracturing fluids -- chemical mixtures pumped at high pressure into oil and gas wells in order to unlock deposits trapped deep underground.

Environmentalists welcomed the bill, but representatives of the natural gas industry say the legislation could lead to increased costs, job losses and increased competition for water -- particularly in the West.

The bill, known as the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, (FRAC) was introduced in both the House and Senate by representatives from Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York. It essentially seeks to overturn a 2005 legislative tweak that placed fracturing fluids outside the regulatory purview of the Safe Drinking Water Act."

Jeremy Miller reports for Green Inc. in the New York Times June 30, 2009.