Halliburton Loophole

  The Halliburton loophole refers to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.  This bill exempted the oil and gas industry from protections under the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund.  It created a loophole that exempts companies drilling for natural gas from disclosing the chemicals involved in fracking operations that would normally be required under federal clean water laws. The loophole is commonly known as the “Halliburton loophole” since former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney was reportedly instrumental in its passage.

For more information, please see the following sites:

Energy Policy Act of 2005: http://www.epa.gov/regulations/laws/epa.html
EPA Clean water Act: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cwa.cfm?program_id=45
CERCLA: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/cercla.htm
Safe Drinking Water Act: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/

Setback Loophole

The Setback Loophole allows any “completed” well to be re-entered and re-drilled regardless of proximity to a structure. There are approximately 4,000 active oil and gas wells that are closer to residential structures than the COGCC setback mandate of 350’. There are also approximately 82,000 abandoned wells in Colorado, and early statistics show that approximately 55% of abandoned wells are being re-entered and re-drilled, meaning there could eventually be tens of thousands of wells closer to residential structures than the current setback mandates. The information above along with more details can be found here: http://fractivist.blogspot.com/2012/09/for-immediate-release-sierra-club-and.html
Learn more about Fracking:
Frack Facts: Fracking's Dirty Dozen
Oil and Gas Exemptions from Federal Laws