This is North Carolina You Rep Natasha’s Speech on no fracking. 

Hello. My name is Natasha and I am a concerned student from East Chapel Hill High School.

Fracking has contaminated water wells in at least seven counties in Pennsylvania. From 2004 to 2009, there has been 52 cases of methane leaks in Dimock, Pennsylvania’s drinking water. Now, methane isn’t considered toxic since it can evaporate out of water. However, methane is highly flammable when exposed to air.

The process of fracking contaminates water with a plethora of chemicals that companies do not have to disclose simply because of a loophole in the Clean Water Act. The “Cheney Loophole”, named after the former vice-president that urged for it, is said to be “fracking up America”. The “recipe” for the chemicals that companies pump into the ground is under patent so companies do not have to disclose the amounts of chemicals they use. This allows them to bypass the strict regulations that protect our water supply.

Duke scientists, the EPA and many other researchers have confirmed traces of benzene and toluene in sites near fracking rigs. These are the same rigs that would be installed in your backyard – right here in the Piedmont. These cancer-causing chemicals can leach into our drinking water.

Furthermore, there is very little regulation for companies that frack due to major lobbying by natural gas companies. The industry has made itself exempt from The Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. Who is monitoring them?  North Carolina does not have the resources to monitor fracking.

I ask the NC General Assembly to say “Yes” to prioritizing our communities and natural resources over corporate profit; “No” to fracking in North Carolina.