<div dir="ltr"><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Please read the following call to action. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is holding public hearings and <a href="http://elpc.convio.net/site/R?i=Bev-HWh5-rAUyyoBVMsGBQ" target="_blank">accepting public comment</a> on proposed rules concerning fracking now through Jan. 3rd. There's no public hearing organized in Champaign yet. I'm asking groups and individuals who oppose fracking/want strong safeguards to contact me with the goal to demand a public hearing in Champaign-Urbana.</font><div>
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Please also forward this message to friends and family who may not be on the Peace List. </font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Thanks. </span><div>
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<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Niloofar Shambayati<br></font><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Jennifer Cassel, ELPC</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:elpcinfo@elpc.org" target="_blank">elpcinfo@elpc.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Thu, Nov 21, 2013 at 9:10 AM<br>Subject: Action Needed: Illinois Fracking Protections Undermined By Draft Regulations<br>To: <a href="mailto:niloofar.peace@gmail.com" target="_blank">niloofar.peace@gmail.com</a><br>
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<td><span style="font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana,Arial"><p>Dear Niloofar,</p>
<p>Fracking
– a method for extracting natural gas and oil – can potentially threaten
drinking water and public health. Illinois enacted legislation that mandates
the strongest fracking standards in the nation. But now the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources has drafted regulations that are inconsistent with the law
and undermine its basic protections. <a href="http://elpc.convio.net/site/R?i=eB95qBLAkwb5rQeRSdgInQ" target="_blank"><strong>We need your help to improve the draft regulations, enforce
the protections and hold the fracking
industry accountable</strong></a><strong>.</strong></p>
<p>The
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is holding public hearings (see
details below) and <a href="http://elpc.convio.net/site/R?i=Bev-HWh5-rAUyyoBVMsGBQ" target="_blank">accepting public
comment</a>
on the proposed rules now through Jan. 3rd. The department should hear from the
public that its draft regulations are too weak and need to be strengthened.
Here are some reasons why:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Emergency Response & Disclosure –</strong> The law
requires that trade-secret-protected information about chemicals be disclosed
to health workers when necessary to treat a patient. <em>IDNR’s draft regulations give discretion over when to share this
information and direct health workers to contact either “IDNR during normal
business hours” or “trade secret holders.” This is unacceptable given that
emergencies can happen at any time of the day, and emergency personnel can’t be
expected to figure out which private fracking entity to contact if the
Department is not available.</em></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Water Pollution – </strong>The law requires all wastewater
to be stored in closed tanks, allowing the use of open pits <span style="text-decoration:underline">only</span> for one
week if unexpectedly huge volumes of wastewater come up the well. <em>IDNR’s draft regulations allow wastewater to
sit in open pits far longer than a week and also do not require accurate
calculations of tank size.</em></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Excludes Wells – </strong>The law applies to <span style="text-decoration:underline">all</span><em> </em>fracking wells, regardless of when they
began operating or what type of process they use. <em>IDNR’s draft regulations would exempt existing wells and potentially
exclude types of fracking that use gas.</em></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Liability </strong>– The law presumes that any water
pollution found within 1,500 feet of a fracking operation was caused by that
fracking, unless the fracking company can prove otherwise. In other words, the
burden of proof lies with the frackers, not with the communities impacted by
the pollution. <em>IDNR’s draft regulations limit industry’s burden of proof to a much
smaller set of “indicator” chemicals, rather than the list of over 100
chemicals included in the law.</em></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Public Notice </strong>– The law requires that any significant
modifications to a permit undergo public review processes – notice, comment and
public hearings. <em>IDNR’s draft regulations
significantly narrow the types of modifications that require public processes,
opening the door for fracking permit holders to avoid public scrutiny.</em></li>
</ul>
<p>IDNR’s
proposed regulations undermine significant protections for public health and
water quality as well as provisions for public participation and transparency with
fracking. <a href="http://elpc.convio.net/site/R?i=yXrxj4WcpO2Rz0qSbu1yqA" target="_blank"><strong>We need to tell IDNR </strong><strong>to follow the
letter of the law to protect the people of Illinois</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Attend
a public meeting. <a href="http://elpc.convio.net/site/R?i=Pm497hPKJQjBJp2inI0Jgg" target="_blank">Submit a public
comment</a>.
Tweet at your friends. Make sure your voice is heard on this important issue.</p>
<p>Best
Wishes,</p>
<p><img src="http://elpc.convio.net/images/content/pagebuilder/Jenny_Cassel.jpg" border="0" alt="Jennifer Cassel" width="200" height="76"></p>
<p>Jennifer L. Cassel<br>ELPC Staff Attorney</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Currently Scheduled Public Meetings</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tuesday, Nov. 26 – Chicago</strong><br>6:30-8:30 p.m. (doors open 5:30 p.m.)<br>University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)<br>Student Center East, Room 302<br>726 S. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL</p>
<p><strong>Tuesday, Dec. 3 – Ina<br></strong>6:30-8:30 p.m. (doors open 5:30 p.m.)<br>Rend Lake College Theater<br>468 North Ken Gray Parkway, Ina, IL</p>
<p><strong>Thursday, Dec. 5 – Effingham</strong><br>6:30-8:30 p.m. (doors open 5:30 p.m.)<br>Holiday Inn Effingham, Hotel Ballroom<br>1301 Avenue of MidAmerica, Effingham, IL</p>
<p><strong>Tuesday, Dec. 17 – Decatur</strong><br>6:30-8:30 p.m. (doors open 5:30 p.m.)<br>Decatur Civic Center, Auditorium<br>#1 Gary K. Anderson Plaza, Decatur, IL</p>
<p><strong>Thursday, Dec. 19 – Carbondale</strong><br>6:30-8:30 p.m. (doors open 5:30 p.m.)<br>Southern Illinois University at Carbondale<br>Student Center, Ballroom B<br>1255 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL</p><img src="http://elpc.convio.net/site/PixelServer?j=Y0sjh-vw8EfgyDJCxpP22w" height="1" width="1" alt="">
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ELPC's 21st Anniversary celebration in 2014!</span></p>
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