BIG SPENDING BY FRACKING LOBBY

New Report Details 10-year Spending Campaign by Fracking Interests to Avoid Regulation
November 13, 2011 (EcoWatch)

"Natural gas interests have spent more than $747 million during a 10-year campaign—stunningly successful so far—to avoid government regulation of hydraulic ‘fracking,’ a fast-growing and environmentally risky process used in…at least a dozen…states to tap underground gas reserves…

"…[A]ccording to…Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets…by Common Cause…[a] faction of the natural gas industry has directed more than $20 million to the campaigns of current members of Congress…and put $726 million into lobbying aimed at shielding itself from oversight…"

click to enlarge

"In Congress, the industry’s political giving heavily favors lawmakers who supported the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which exempted fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Current members who voted for the bill received an average of $73,433, while those who voted against the bill received an average of $10,894.

"The report comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to publish new, preliminary findings in 2012 about the potential dangers of fracking. That gives the industry a powerful incentive to increase political spending now in an attempt to shape public opinion and the debate over fracking in Congress, as well as affect the outcome of the 2012 congressional elections…"