The audacity of this proposed bill is going to astound you!
JM Lozano filed a bill, HB 2771, that would allow the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to authorize the dumping of wastewater from oil and gas operations into our state’s streams, rivers, reservoirs, and bays.
Any claims that oil and gas wastewater is clean are false. Fracking wastewater contains highly toxic substances that can persist in the environment for many years. It can potentially contain any combination of over 1600 different chemicals. In one analysis of fracking fluid chemicals, 157 were found to be linked to reproductive or developmental health problems, and toxicity information was lacking for hundreds of others. Naturally occurring underground chemicals include oil byproducts, which can cause kidney and liver damage and reproductive problems, and radioactive materials, which can cause lung and bone cancer, lymphoma and leukemia.
Of the as many as 1600 different chemicals in produced water, EPA has approved methods for detecting only about 400 of those chemicals. Next, we only have data on the toxicity for less than 200. And finally, the Safe Drinking Water Act regulates for just 89 of those.
The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association joins the Sierra Club and Environment Texas in the vehement opposition to this bill. It would be very unwise to suddenly opening up our state to dumping wastewater from oil and gas operations, which includes chemicals used in “fracking” that can contain chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects.
Please call your State Representatives and urge them to vote no on HB 2771 if it comes up for a vote.
Thank you to the Sierra Club and Environment Texas for sharing their information on this bill.
Thank you to the Sierra Club and Environment Texas for sharing their information on this bill.