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According to a new report by the nonpartisan group Common Cause, the natural gas industry has pumped millions into Congress to avoid regulation of hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking."
Fracking is a controversial method of obtaining natural gas involving injecting a mix of sand, chemicals, and water into a well at high pressure. Questions have been raised about the possibility of polluting groundwater near fracking sites, and was documented in a 1987 EPA study.
The new report details that $747 million has been spent during a successful 10-year campaign. "Players in this industry have pumped cash into Congress in the same way they pump toxic chemicals into underground rock formations to free trapped gas," said Common Cause President Bob Edgar.
Among the report's key findings:
"Thanks to the Supreme Court and its Citizens United decision, the natural gas industry will be free to spend whatever it likes next year to elect a Congress that will do its bidding," Edgar said. "The industry's political investments already have largely freed it from government oversight. Controlling the flow of that money and other corporate spending on our elections is critical to protecting our environment for this and future generations."
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According to a new report by the nonpartisan group Common Cause, the natural gas industry has pumped millions into Congress to avoid regulation of hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking."
Fracking is a controversial method of obtaining natural gas involving injecting a mix of sand, chemicals, and water into a well at high pressure. Questions have been raised about the possibility of polluting groundwater near fracking sites, and was documented in a 1987 EPA study.
The new report details that $747 million has been spent during a successful 10-year campaign. "Players in this industry have pumped cash into Congress in the same way they pump toxic chemicals into underground rock formations to free trapped gas," said Common Cause President Bob Edgar.
Among the report's key findings:
"Thanks to the Supreme Court and its Citizens United decision, the natural gas industry will be free to spend whatever it likes next year to elect a Congress that will do its bidding," Edgar said. "The industry's political investments already have largely freed it from government oversight. Controlling the flow of that money and other corporate spending on our elections is critical to protecting our environment for this and future generations."
According to a new report by the nonpartisan group Common Cause, the natural gas industry has pumped millions into Congress to avoid regulation of hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking."
Fracking is a controversial method of obtaining natural gas involving injecting a mix of sand, chemicals, and water into a well at high pressure. Questions have been raised about the possibility of polluting groundwater near fracking sites, and was documented in a 1987 EPA study.
The new report details that $747 million has been spent during a successful 10-year campaign. "Players in this industry have pumped cash into Congress in the same way they pump toxic chemicals into underground rock formations to free trapped gas," said Common Cause President Bob Edgar.
Among the report's key findings:
"Thanks to the Supreme Court and its Citizens United decision, the natural gas industry will be free to spend whatever it likes next year to elect a Congress that will do its bidding," Edgar said. "The industry's political investments already have largely freed it from government oversight. Controlling the flow of that money and other corporate spending on our elections is critical to protecting our environment for this and future generations."