skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Groups Push for More Disclosure of Fracking Chemicals

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 27, 2016   

HELENA, Mont. — Two groups petitioned the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation on Tuesday, asking to close loopholes that they said keep landowners in the dark about potentially toxic chemicals being injected into the ground at drilling sites.

Derf Johnson, water program director for the Montana Environmental Information Center - which, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council, brought the petition to the board - said the current regulations only require companies to disclose the chemicals they're using after the fact. For nearby landowners, he said, that isn't practical.

"You can't ask landowners to test for all of these different chemicals,” Johnson said. "They need to know beforehand what particular chemicals the operator intends to use, so they can test for those specific constituents and it won't cost them nearly as much."

According to Johnson, many landowners get baseline tests done on their water so they can repeat the test after the fracking to see if their water supply has been contaminated with toxic chemicals.

The board has 60 days to respond to the petition.

Under current regulations, oil and gas companies don't have to release information on certain fracking chemicals that they consider to be "trade secrets." But Johnson said state regulators don't give those claims the proper scrutiny.

"Right now, it's a complete loophole that allows fracking operators to completely ignore the rule,” Johnson said. "And this will force them to actually demonstrate that they have a legitimate, 'trade secret' interest in their chemicals."

A 2015 study by the Environmental Working Group examining the contents of fracking fluids used in California wells, found dozens of chemicals that have been linked to cancer, reproductive harm and hormone disruption.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021