Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Wednesday, May 21st, 2014

Hydraulic Fracturing: N.C. Bill Would Make it a Felony to Disclose Fracking Chemicals

Author:     MIKE LEE
Source:     Environment & Energy Daily
Publication Date:     Friday, May 16, 2014
 Link: Hydraulic Fracturing: N.C. Bill Would Make it a Felony to Disclose Fracking Chemicals
Stephan:   North Carolina citizens voted into officer politicians completely in the pocket of the uber-rich, and utterly contemptuous of the wellbeing of ordinary citizens. Voter suppression has been one result. Less well known is that the North Carolina Senate passed a rule that climate change could not be considered as a factor by cities and towns in planning for the future. Now we have this. And, as this report details, North Carolina is far from alone. I think one of the most important political facts in America today is that voters routinely vote year after year for people who make their lives miserable and, I suspect, in the Red value states they will continue to do so. It is becoming a determinant factor in the Great Schism Trend.

People who disclose confidential information about hydraulic fracturing chemicals in North Carolina would be subject to criminal penalties and civil damages, under a bill in the state Legislature.

The “Energy Modernization Act,” which was introduced yesterday, would make it a Class I felony to disclose trade secrets related to hydraulic fracturing, while spelling out how the information is supposed to be provided to emergency workers. Class I is the lowest-level felony, punishable by a few months’ imprisonment.

“It is very concerning,” said Hope Taylor, executive director of Clean Water North Carolina. “That could have a very chilling effect on folks in the agencies who want to help emergency responders.”

It’s the latest twist in North Carolina’s quest to write rules allowing drilling and fracking for natural gas. The state has a potential shale field called the Deep River formation, but it passed a moratorium on development until it can establish regulations to control the industry.

The state’s Mining and Energy Commission, which is writing the regulations, drew criticism earlier this month when it rejected a proposal on chemical disclosure under pressure from the oil and gas industry, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. The subcommittee’s proposal would have allowed exemptions from disclosure for chemicals […]

Read the Full Article