Brandon R. Cottrell
Senior Desk Officer, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – A proposed bill in North Carolina, the Energy Modernization Act, if passed, would charge any individual (with an exception for emergency first responders) with a felony if they publicly disclosed trade secret protected information regarding fracking chemicals.

Fracking is a procedure where fractures are created in rock formations by injecting high-pressure mixtures of chemicals and fluid; once the fractures are opened, natural gas can then be extracted.  Though not currently legal in North Carolina, legislation aims to legalize the process next year.

Environmental groups claim that the mixture of chemicals and fluid are potentially hazardous and could thus contaminate groundwater and wells serving nearby homes and farms.  Much is still unknown about the health effects, but according to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, at least four individuals that worked at fracking sites have died due to “acute chemical exposure.”

However, proponents have refuted such claims and tout fracking as an environmentally sound alternative.  Additionally, proponents have stated that fracking will create jobs and provide cheap and reliable energy.

According to Hannah Wiseman, a Florida State University law professor who studies fracking laws, “the felony provision is far stricter than most states’ provisions in terms of the penalty for violating trade secrets.”  Depending on the offender’s prior criminal history, a violation of this law would be punishable by up to a year in prison or community service.

Derb Carter, the director for the Southern Environmental Law Center believes that the proposed law is “intended to protect polluters and keep neighbors in the dark.”  Carter has additionally stated that the “[real] crime should be allowing corporations to pump toxic chemicals underground without public disclosure of those chemicals.”

 

For further information, please see the following:

Business Week – NC Legislative Committees Ok Gas Fracking Bill – 21-May-2014

Huffington Post – North Carolina Legislators Advance Fracking Bill That Would Block Chemical Disclosure – 21-May-2014

MSNBC – North Carolina Could Make Disclosing Fracking Chemicals A Felony -21-May-2014

News Week – North Carolina Bill Would Make Revealing Fracking Secrets a Felony – 20-May-2014