Lobbying Blog #1: Fracking

 In the past few years, people have discovered a wealth of natural gas in the shale, which reaches across Pennsylvania to New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Pennsylvania saw this as an opportunity to make money and let Oil Companies perform Hydraulic Fracturing with loosened restrictions on safety. While this is providing jobs across Pennsylvania, many people are becoming sick and finding that they are unable to drink their tap water.

For my lobbying project, I have chosen to lobby against the Hydraulic Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. Specifically, I would like to see our government in Pennsylvania begin to tighten the restrictions on the Oil Companies and force them to reveal what harmful chemicals they put in the water used in the process. This would be helpful for, not only the citizens who have these chemicals in their water, but workers at water treatment plants who are finding that they don't have enough technology to fix the water that comes to them. This is what I want Governor Corbett to do. 

Many groups are asking for the same thing I am. My dad receives numerous emails asking him to sign petitions against fracking. Groups such as the Environmental Protection Agency, who are doing their best to study the effects of Fracking on local rivers. See Epa's Work HERE. Another group, Protecting Our Waters, is organizing protests and mass call-ins to the Governor. A link to their website can be found HERE

However, there are other groups that have high stakes in the Oil Companies and are doing everything they can to keep Fracking as it is now. Big Oil Companies like Cabot Oil and Gas say on their website "345, 000 people employed" and "Landowners paid 30 billion in royalties". But, after snooping around on their website, I found that they aren't as friendly and helpful as they seem. In one of their documents they say that they will gladly screen your tap water upon request however, they will not help you understand your results nor do they say much to how they would fix any damage. The other problem with the opposers of my lobby is that they are involved in the government. In one article it says that Governor Corbett gave authority over Fracking to Walker who was once a CEO of an energy company and owns several trucking businesses (Fracking requires A LOT of trucks). To see this article click HERE. 

Recently, Governor Corbett did respond to the pleas of lobbyers like myself, he ammended the Gas Act, which would require companies to provide detailed plans on the impacts of every well they make for fracking. This Act can be found HERE.

While I think this is a big step, I still believe we need to act more harshly to radically change the way these companies are running.