Washington D.C., 7/1— EARTHWORKS joined 17 other organizations from across the country in support of an effort by Representative Mike Arcuri (NY) to close one of the loopholes in environmental laws for oil and gas companies. Representative Arcuri offered an amendment to the Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental Protection Act of 2010, which was approved today by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The amendment eliminates the ability of oil and gas operators to circumvent the Clean Water Act's stormwater permitting provisions during construction of oil and gas wells.
” We applaud Representative Arcuri's effort to protect our fish and wildlife resources and clean water by eliminating the exemption under the Clean Water Act's stormwater provisions for oil and gas construction operations”, affirmed Gwen Lachelt, Director of EARTHWORKS' Oil and Gas Accountability Project. We have learned from the Gulf disaster that we can't afford to cut corners on safety and environmental protection in our oil and gas development. This is one step in the right direction towards reforming our oil and gas industry.
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