By: Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)
November 07 2016
As Virginia faced new fracking interest in recent years, the state’s oil and gas protections lagged far behind other states. Communities across the state worked with SELC and other stakeholders to address the lax oversight. Much of that work is reflected in new oil and gas regulations recently approved by Governor Terry McAuliffe that provide critical improvements to Virginia’s oil and gas policies.
The new protections include the mandatory disclosure of fracking chemicals, establishment of baseline water testing and monitoring, and implementation of spill prevention and response planning. These protections all reflect lessons-learned in states already impacted by industrial gas development using high-volume hydraulic fracturing.
“While there’s more to be done to make sure our drinking water and communities are protected from fracking and industrial gas development, this is an important step forward to protect the health and safety of all Virginians,” said SELC attorney Kristin Davis.