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Dear Friend,
We have introduced a package of legislation to support responsible natural gas development in Arkansas. These seven bills are intended to ensure that natural gas development be balanced in a responsible approach that takes advantage of the economic opportunities but also protects Arkansans’ individual property rights and the air, land, and water which we all depend upon for survival.
These bills will be heard in the House and Senate Agriculture Committees soon! Please e-mail or call members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and let them know that we hope they will vote in support of the bills listed below.
SB314 (Salmon)The Landowners Bill of Rights – Arkansas landowners should have a voice in decisions about well siting and other plans on their property, full disclosure and adequate notice of all company activities on their property, and accurate information about their rights as mineral and/or surface owners. Find detailed talking points here.
HB1396 (Webb) Natural Gas Drilling Disclosure – Gas companies should reveal to the public and state agencies volumes of water used and the source of the water, chemicals and volumes of chemicals used, quantity of fluid (water and chemicals) used in a well that remained in the well versus returned to the surface, and disposal methods for all drilling and fracturing fluids. Find detailed talking points here.
HB1399 (Pierce) Rural Good Neighbor Noise Abatement – Gas companies should reduce noise to below 55 db at 1000 yards of distance from a house during the day and 45 db at night. Find detailed talking points here.
HB1395 (Leding) Natural Gas Drilling Air Quality Protection – Natural gas drilling, production and transportation releases a myriad of hazardous air contaminants that have limited monitoring in Arkansas. Air quality from wells near homes and of wells concentrated within small geographic areas should be monitored and agencies should evaluate their ability to adequately provide monitoring in the Fayetteville shale region and ramp up efforts. Find detailed talking points here.
HB1394 (Lenderman) Natural Gas Drilling Water Quality Protection –Arkansas lakes, rivers and streams like the Little Red River, Cadron Creek and Greers Ferry Lake are threatened with pollution from gas development. Gas companies should be REQUIRED to follow best management practices when building roads, pipelines and drilling pads. Waste pits containing toxic fluids from the drilling process should have strict requirements for construction, maintenance, and closure to prevent leakage and runoff. Casing standards should be strengthened to prevent contamination of groundwater. Gas companies should be responsible for testing private water supplies near drill sites for contamination. Find detailed talking points here.
HB1392 (Leding) Improving Inspections and Enforcement at Gas Drilling Sites – Gas wells are not inspected often enough, and there are far too many cases where violations have gone unremediated and unpunished. Gas wells should be inspected at least annually and more often during drilling or fracturing, when millions of gallons of chemicals and contaminated water are handled on site. More must be done to hold polluters accountable for correcting problems they’ve created and to prevent them from repeating mistakes again. Find detailed talking points here.
HB1393 (Webb) Increase Bonding to Protect Arkansas from Holding the Toxic Bag – Gas wells remain productive for 10 to 30 years, after which they must be closed and remediated. We must protect Arkansans from companies who may go bankrupt or fail to meet their obligations to clean up their mess. Assurance bonds to pay for closing and remediating abandoned wells must be significantly increased. Requirements should be strengthened for idle wells, which have a higher risk of becoming the responsibility of the state. Find detailed talking points here.
Please contact the members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and let them know that we hope they will vote in support of these bills. Your individual and collective contacts to your representatives and senators are essential and necessary to help protect our homes, farms, families and environment - today.
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