“Earthworks applauds Senator Gillibrand’s efforts to give a silver lining to the Keystone XL dirty oil stormcloud by working to close the Halliburton loophole for fracking in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The debate over Senator Gillibrand’s amendment marks the first time the Senate has voted explicitly on exempting from the Safe Drinking Water Act the injection of toxic fracking chemicals through drinking water aquifers. This special favor to the oil and gas industry became legal in 2005, when ex-Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney arranged to include it in the 2005 Energy Policy Act.
Unfortunately, Senator Gillibrand’s amendment failed 35-63. Every Senator who voted against the Gillibrand amendment prioritized the oil and gas industry’s profits ahead of a community’s right to safe drinking water.”
— END —
