‘Halliburton Loophole’ Allows Fracking Companies to Avoid Chemical Regulation

$File photo: A horizontal gas drilling rig in the Marcellus Shale outside Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. Massive quantities of water, sand and chemicals, many exempt from regulation under the "Halliburton amendment," are pumped into the wells at high pressure as part of the fracking process. Credit: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images.$

For almost 20 years, U.S. public-health advocates have worried that toxic chemicals are getting into ground water and harming human health because of an exemption to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act that allows operators of oil and gas fracking operations to use chemicals that would be regulated if used for any other purpose. The … Continue reading ‘Halliburton Loophole’ Allows Fracking Companies to Avoid Chemical Regulation