June, 13 2011, 04:34pm EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch: (202) 683.4905, kfried(at)fwwatch(dot)org.
Advocates for Safe, Clean Water Call for Local and Federal Bans on Fracking
New Food & Water Watch Report Highlights Public Health Risks Associated With Controversial Practice
ALBANY, N.Y.
The movement to protect public health and essential natural resources escalated today when the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch joined with Frack Action and New York State Senator Tony Avella (D-Queens) to call on New York State and the federal government to ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing.
"The U.S. is experiencing a boom in shale gas production, and this has come at the detriment of consumers and the environment," said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. "Contrary to what the natural gas industry wants us to believe, fracking is not a panacea to our energy woes. It is a toxic practice that threatens essential resources, poisons people and livestock and erodes the quality of life in rural America. New York State and the federal government should take a good long look at the dangers of fracking and ban it before it inflicts any more harm on U.S. communities."
Fracking involves injecting water, sand and potentially toxic chemicals deep underground to break up dense rock formations and release natural gas. The process can pollute water supplies when fracking chemicals leak into underground wells, or when accidents spill the fluids into rivers or streams.
Public opposition to fracking has escalated in recent months. According to Food & Water Watch, at least 55 localities across the U.S. have passed measures against fracking.
Late last year, New York State passed a six-month moratorium on the practice. In late May, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued the federal government for not assessing the environmental impacts of fracking near the Delaware River, which supplies drinking water for 15 million Americans. The New York State Senate is currently considering legislation that would ban fracking, as well as a bill that would require hazardous waste produced from fracking to be subject to the treatment requirements of hazardous waste.
"Since last year's moratorium battle, we've seen a near-constant stream of revelations and devastating news that has expanded our knowledge of the myriad dangers of fracking, and the extent to which this practice has only been allowed to move forward through the suppression of scientific evidence and the collusion of political leaders with oil and gas corporations," said Claire Sandberg, executive director of Frack Action. "With more damning revelations emerging every day--from the levels of radioactivity in fracking wastewater, to political pressure on the EPA, to the news that gas companies have used over 32 million gallons of diesel fuel as an injection fluid in 19 states--we see now that only a full and permanent ban on hydraulic fracturing will adequately protect New Yorkers."
This backlash against fracking is reinforced by a report also released today by Food & Water Watch that highlights why natural gas drilling poses unacceptable risks to the American public. The Case for a Ban on Gas Fracking shows how the natural gas industry's use of water-intensive, toxic, unregulated practices for natural gas extraction are compromising public health and polluting water resources necessary for human health and sanitation, businesses and agriculture.
Natural gas fracked from shale has increased in recent years as new techniques allowed drillers to access natural gas deposits that were previously considered too dense or far underground to economically extract. Shale fracking drills deep curving horizontal wells into rock formations, injecting them with a mixture of water and chemicals to extract gas. The EPA estimates that 70 to 140 billion gallons of water are pumped into 35,000 fracking wells annually.
According to Department of Energy figures, fracked shale and coalbed gas production increased nearly 150 percent between 2000 and 2010. Over the last four years, shale gas production increased an average of 48 percent annually.
The oil and gas industry lobby paved the way for the expansion of fracking. The 10 largest natural gas producers and two trade associations spent more than $370 million lobbying between 2005 and 2010, according to Food & Water Watch analysis of Center for Responsive Politics data. Fracking is exempt from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which allows gas companies to inject almost any chemical into fracked wells, and they are not legally required to disclose these chemicals claiming they are proprietary "trade secrets."
In 2011, the U.S. House and Energy Commerce Committee found that between 2005 and 2009, 14 oil companies injected 780 million gallons of fracking chemicals and other substances into U.S. wells. This included 10.2 million gallons of fluids containing known or suspected carcinogens. Scientists at the Endocrine Disruption Exchange found that 25 percent of fracking fluids can cause cancer; 37 percent can disrupt the endocrine system; and 40 to 50 percent can affect the nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems.
Opponents of fracking cite the high potential for water and air pollution as a leading reason to ban the practice. Over 1,000 cases of water contamination have been reported near fracking sites. A study released by researchers at Duke University in April found methane levels in shallow drinking water wells near active gas drilling sites at a level 17 times higher than those near inactive ones. Similarly, a 2011 Cornell University study found that the process of fracking releases methane, which according to the EPA, is 21 times more damaging greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
"Given the numerous accidents in other states, and the DEC's extremely limited resources, I have yet to be convinced that hydrofracking can be safely executed in New York State," said New York State Senator Tony Avella, who is the ranking member of the Environmental Conservation Committee. "New York's abundant clean water is our most precious resource, and it is simply too valuable to risk. If our water is polluted, it is gone forever. The science is simply not fully developed to prevent accidents that will do irreparable harm to our water supply and our farmland, and we are not prepared to handle the contamination should an incident occur. Until we can be one hundred percent assured there is no chance of any harmful contaminants leaking into our drinking water we must ban the practice completely."
Between 30 and 70 percent of the fluids used in fracking are discharged as wastewater. In 2008, a fracking wastewater pit in Colorado leaked 1.6 million gallons of fluids, which migrated into the Colorado River. Fracking operations in Pennsylvania alone are expected to create 19 million gallons of wastewater, which can contain radioactive elements, and cannot be effectively treated by municipal wastewater plants.
"The more I learn about hydrofracking, the more concerned I grow about its negative effects on our health and our environment," said New York State Senator Liz Kruger (D-Manhattan). "There is simply too much scientific evidence that this practice poses insurmountable dangers. For the safety of all New Yorkers we cannot allow hydrofracking to take place in the State of New York. There is too much at risk."
Despite the public health and environmental risks associated with the process, many states have allowed fracking in hopes that it could help boost recession-ravaged economies. Between 2006 and 2011, Pennsylvania attributed $1.1 billion in state revenue to natural gas drilling.
Yet in many places, fracking has eroded the quality of life for local residents. In Wise County, Texas properties with gas wells have lost 75 percent of their value, and residents in communities host to fracking operations have experienced headaches and blackouts from air pollution. One Texas hospital serving counties near drilling sites reported asthma rates three times higher than the state average with one quarter of the children it served suffering from the ailment. In Ohio, a house exploded after a fracked gas well leaked methane into the home's water supply.
"The public health impacts of fracking are already a reality for many of us in New York" said Natalie Brant from Collins, NY, whose family including her husband and eight children have experienced health problems since vertical fracking began at their residence three years ago. "The health problems of many families are only going to get worse unless the New York State legislature and Governor Cuomo put the well-being of the people before the profits of giant gas companies."
The Case for a Ban on Gas Fracking is available here:
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/the-case-for-a-ban-on-gas-fracking
A map of municipalities that have taken action against fracking is available here:
https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/fracking/fracking-action-center/map/
Frack Action is engaged in a long-term campaign to protect our water, air and public health from the dangerous practice of hydraulic fracturing. By raising awareness and empowering the public to organize in defense of their communities, we seek to expose the false claims of the gas industry and mobilize a citizen movement to protect our health and our future.
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
(202) 683-2500LATEST NEWS
Trump Urges Gaza Cease-Fire Deal—And End to Netanyahu Corruption Trial in Israel
The U.S. president's comments came as Israel's military continued to kill Palestinians and order evacuations in the besieged enclave.
Jun 29, 2025
"MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!" U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media early Sunday, as Israeli forces—armed with billions of dollars in military support from the United States—continued their nearly 21-month annihilation of the Palestinian territory.
Trump's Truth Social post came after he suggested on Friday that there could be a cease-fire deal between the Israeli government and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that governed Gaza for nearly two decades and led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, "within the next week."
As The Associated Pressreported Sunday:
Ron Dermer, a top adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a cease-fire, an Israeli official said, and plans were being made for Netanyahu to travel there in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a deal.
Netanyahu was meeting with his Security Cabinet on Sunday evening, the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that hadn't been finalized.
Trump's post calling for a deal also came just hours after he took to his Truth Social network to criticize the corruption trial that Netanyahu faces in Israel. Some critics of the prime minister have accused him of continuing the assault on Gaza to avoid his legal issues at home.
Saturday evening, Trump wrote:
It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran. Importantly, he is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.). It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure. This travesty of “Justice” will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations. In other words, it is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu. The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this. We just had a Great Victory with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu at the helm—And this greatly tarnishes our Victory. LET BIBI GO, HE’S GOT A BIG JOB TO DO!
Then, Reutersrevealed Sunday that the Jerusalem District Court canceled this week's hearings for Netanyahu's trial, "accepting a request the Israeli leader made citing classified diplomatic and security grounds."
The news agency noted that "it was unclear whether a social media post by... Trump influenced the court's decision."
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's military kept slaughtering Palestinians in Gaza this weekend. In addition to the warrant for the prime minister issued last year by the International Criminal Court—which sparked retaliation from Trump—Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Gaza health officials said that as of midday Sunday, Israeli attacks had killed at least 86 people in the previous 24 hours, and put the death toll since October 2023 at 56,500, with 133,419 others wounded.
With thousands more Palestinians missing in the destroyed enclave, researchers have warned that the true toll could be far higher, particularly when accounting for deaths from causes such as disease, hunger, and exposure to cold temperatures.
The Israeli military on Sunday issued evacuation orders for neighborhoods in Gaza City and other northern areas of the strip.
According to the BBC:
Medics said five people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent housing displaced people in al-Mawasi near the southern city of Khan Younis—an area where people in the north had been told to evacuate to.
Five members of the Maarouf family, including three children, were killed.
"They bombed us while we were sleeping on the ground," their mother Iman Abu Maarouf said. "We didn't do anything wrong. My children were killed, and the rest are in intensive care."
Israel's attacks have crippled Gaza's healthcare system, and its blockade has limited the flow of essentials, from medical supplies to food. Israeli troops have also killed Palestinians seeking aid from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)—or Doctors Without Borders—emergency coordinator in Gaza, Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, excoriated the GHF operation and Israeli forces in a Friday statement.
"The four distribution sites, all located in areas under the full control of Israeli forces after people had been forcibly displaced from there, are the size of football fields surrounded by watch points, mounds of earth, and barbed wire. The fenced entrance gives only one access point in or out," he said. "GHF workers drop the pallets and the boxes of food and open the fences, allowing thousands in all at once to fight down to the last grain of rice."
"If people arrive early and approach the checkpoints, they get shot. If they arrive on time, but there is an overflow and they jump over the mounds and the wires, they get shot," Zabalgogeazkoa continued. "If they arrive late, they shouldn't be there because it is an 'evacuated zone,' they get shot."
Sharing the statement on social media Sunday, MSF said: "This is not humanitarian aid. It is slaughter."
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Public Land Sale Out, But Senate GOP Megabill Still Attacks Planet
"It's a job killer, a planet killer, and an economy killer," Sen. Ed Markey said of Republicans' so-called Big Beautiful Bill.
Jun 29, 2025
While welcoming that U.S. Senate Republicans are removing a provision that would have forced the sale of public lands from their budget reconciliation package, Democratic lawmakers and environmentalists this weekend condemned other attacks on the planet that are part of the megabill making its way through the upper chamber.
After Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough blocked Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) initial public land sale policy earlier this week, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources chair tried to sneak in an amended version late Friday. However, as the chamber's Republicans scrambled to generate enough support for a procedural vote Saturday night, Lee announced the withdrawal of his provision from the package.
"This is a momentous win for conservation and a powerful reminder that Americans deeply value our public lands and waters. That was made crystal clear by the remarkable, bipartisan outcry opposing the liquidation of our natural heritage," said Tom Kiernan, president and CEO of American Rivers. "Future generations should be able to continue to use these lands for fishing, rafting, hiking, and swimming, and to enjoy the clean water that begins in these priceless places. It is our responsibility to protect that legacy."
Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program, said that "from the moment Mike Lee first introduced this proposal, Americans across the political spectrum have made it clear they oppose selling off the natural heritage of our public lands to fund tax cuts for billionaires—not now, not ever. This is a victory for everyone who hikes, hunts, explores, and cherishes these places, but it's not the end of the threats to our public lands."
U.S. President Donald Trump "and his allies in Congress have made it clear they will use every tool at their disposal to give away our public lands to billionaires and corporate polluters, whether it's Mike Lee's fire sale, leasing them to Big Oil CEOs for pennies on the dollar, or gutting the permitting and oversight process for industrial development," Manuel warned. "This fight isn't over, and we are going to keep working to keep the 'public' in public lands."
We won this battle, but no doubt Republicans are going to keep trying to sell off your public lands any chance they get. Our public lands are worth fighting for, and as long as I have the honor of representing Oregon in the Senate that's what I'll be doing.
— Senator Ron Wyden (@wyden.senate.gov) June 28, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Anna Peterson, executive director of the Mountain Pact, which works with over 100 communities on climate, outdoor recreation, and public lands policy, said that "as millions of Americans and western communities have reminded people again and again over the past few weeks, public lands are bipartisan, deeply revered, sustain our communities, power our economies, and serve as the cornerstone of our outdoor way of life. We must remain steadfast in our commitment to defending public lands, and continue to fight to make sure they remain where they belong forever: in public hands."
The Natural Resources Defense Council had criticized both the axed public land sale provision and attacks on renewable energy, which remain in the megabill. NRDC executive director Christy Goldfuss said that "the new budget reconciliation bill text is a shocking fossil fuels industry fever dream come to life. The corruption on display is galling."
"The bill has gone from fossil fuels boosterism to an active effort from Congress to kill wind and solar energy in the United States. This cannot be viewed as anything other than a 'Trump energy tax,'" Goldfuss said, blasting Republican plans to not only end incentives for renewable energy, but also impose new taxes on wind and solar generation.
"This bill was already going to force the biggest utility bill increase in history, but the new language can only be interpreted as a corrupt effort to advance oil, gas, and coal on the backs of everyday Americans," she continued. "This is a shocking effort to manipulate energy markets, siphon money from every household in the country, kill jobs, and shut down the fastest growing segment of the energy economy--all to enrich the barons at the helm of the most profitable enterprise in history."
Referencing one of Trump's early executive orders, Goldfuss added that "the administration claims that we are in an energy emergency, making it the wrong time to choke off the cheapest and fastest-to-deploy sources of energy."
Adrian Deveny, founder and president of policy advisory firm Climate Vision and a former policy director to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), toldPolitico: "It's a kill shot. This new excise tax on wind and solar is designed to fully kill the industry."
Costa Samaras, a clean energy leader in former Democratic President Joe Biden's White House, also warned on the social media network Bluesky on Saturday that the policy would kill Americans.
"The new bill in Congress puts a new tax on wind and solar. They're taxing clean energy to give your money to billionaires," Samaras said. "Taxing clean energy and making it harder for new clean energy to be built in the U.S. at a time when the grid is under increasing stress from extreme weather, will lead to people dying in heatwaves."
"They are taxing wind and solar power. Not just taking away the credits in Biden's climate law. But actively taxing wind and solar. My god this bill is terrible," he continued. "If you have a [Republican] representative, call and leave a message saying you don't want to raise taxes on clean energy... If you're a reporter, there's a story here. Why is the Senate putting the grid and Americans' lives at risk?"
Senate Democrats are also speaking out about the GOP assault on renewable energy. Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) are among those sounding the alarm.
"Big Oil has been getting tax breaks for more than a century," noted Markey. "Trump's big billionaire bill doesn't just cut clean energy incentives, it RAISES TAXES on wind and solar. It's a job killer, a planet killer, and an economy killer."
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Watch: After Key Senate Vote Dems Force Reading of 940-Page GOP Megabill
"If Senate Republicans won't tell the American people what's in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Jun 29, 2025
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
After an hourslong delay from the initial goal of noon, U.S. Senate Republicans on Saturday night kicked off the process of passing their 940-page budget reconciliation package—which the chamber's Democrats are making the clerks read in full, not only to draw out the process but also to highlight the various provisions expected to harm American families while giving tax cuts to the rich.
"Senate Republicans are scrambling to pass a radical bill, released to the public in the dead of night, praying the American people don't realize what's in it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the chamber's floor. "If Senate Republicans won't tell the American people what's in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish."
Watch the bill reading:
After the reading, senators shift to debate and the period when they can offer amendments, known as the vote-a-rama. At this point, a final vote is expected sometime Monday. The House of Representatives has already passed its own version but must pass identical text before the bill can go to U.S. President Donald Trump's desk.
The Senate's updated bill text was released late Friday. Republicans then spent Saturday scrambling for enough support for the procedural vote. Ultimately, only Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) voted with Democrats against considering the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump wants to sign by July 4, or Independence Day.
Tillis explained his position in a lengthy statement, saying in part: "I cannot support this bill in its current form. It would result in tens of billions of dollars in lost funding for North Carolina, including our hospitals and rural communities. This will force the state to make painful decisions like eliminating Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands in the expansion population, and even reducing critical services for those in the traditional Medicaid population."
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) pointed out Saturday that "while Republican senators are securing baubles and trinkets for their political donors, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the Senate bill will cut $930 billion from Medicaid." That preliminary analysis doesn't account for other attacks on healthcare, including the Affordable Care Act.
"Just as before, these cruel cuts to Americans' healthcare will strike a mortal blow to rural healthcare, and threaten the health and safety of kids, seniors, Americans with disabilities, and working families across the country," Wyden warned. "Life and death decisions of this magnitude should not be subjected to this rushed and reckless process. I urge Republican senators not to travel down this dangerous path: there is no band-aid that can heal these dangerous, deadly cuts."
It’s 2AM on a Sunday and I’m heading to the Capitol to FORCE a full reading of the Republicans’ 940-page bill.This bill will rip health care coverage away from 16 million people and cut food assistance.It’s sick. And we will not stand for it.
[image or embed]
— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) June 29, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Paul suggested on social media Saturday evening that the GOP bill would add too much to the national debt. In his post on X, the senator also took a swipe at the platform's owner: the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, who was the de facto leader of Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency until his ugly exit from government last month.
Musk, meanwhile, also took to X to blast the package, criticizing the proposed taxes on wind and solar projects: "The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future."
The bill would not only attack clean energy, but also give Big Oil $18 billion in new subsidies. Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program, said in a Saturday statement that "these last-minute changes added in secret, behind closed doors, are breathtakingly stupid, as they would undermine thousands of energy projects under development, cause economic chaos, and make electricity more expensive and less reliable for Americans."
"Senate Republicans have zero interest in pursuing measured, thoughtful policy, and instead are only interested in pleasing Trump and extreme oil and gas campaign donors with inane culture war nonsense. The American people deserve better from their Senators than this absurd, harmful charade," he continued. "Trump's oil and gas donors will be delighted, but these cuts will hit America's working families with more expensive energy bills and less reliable service."
While celebrating the 51-49 procedural vote—and specifically praising Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for their crucial support—Trump lashed out at both Paul and Tillis on his Truth Social platform Saturday, threatening the latter with a primary challenge. On Sunday, Tillis announced he will not seek reelection next year.
Politicoreported that on Saturday, "Vice President JD Vance arrived at the Capitol shortly after 8:00 pm to break a possible tie," with Johnson, Paul, and Tillis having already voted "no." Johnson changed his vote after negotiations that involved Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and the other holdouts listed by Trump.
One win for critics of the megabill is the removal of Lee's provision to force the sale of public lands, which had generated widespread opposition, including from some Republican lawmakers. Lee had tried to slip a rewritten version of the measure back into the package after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against it earlier this week.
Still, advocates, clergy, and people at risk because of the Republican bill are planning a Moral Monday demonstration at the U.S. Capitol—with 51 caskets—to call out GOP attacks on Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and tax credits for working families.
"If this budget passes, it will unleash years of needless suffering on our nation's most vulnerable, preying on those with the least and undermining the dignity of hardworking, low-wage Americans. We must not—and will not—stop praying and advocating against this deadly and unjust bill," said Bishop William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach.
Barber, who has been arrested at the Capitol with other moral leaders, added that "we are going back to the Rotunda to pray—because we love the people of this nation too much to remain silent, and so we must raise our voices in moral demonstration and dissent."
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