PA Environment Digest

Speaker of the House Sam Smith (R-Jefferson) released the following statement regarding the misinformation being perpetuated by some special interests regarding the chemical disclosure language in one paragraph of Act 13, the Marcellus/Utica Shale Impact law:

“Doctors will be able to provide all of the information needed to discuss any patient ailment.

“It is outrageous to think, let alone for anyone to portray, that the state would actually ‘gag’ a doctor in treating a patient. It is irresponsible for an organization to try and create such hysteria.

“The language in the Marcellus/Utica law was advocated by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.

“The new law explicitly requires fracking chemical information be disclosed to medical professionals so that they may provide treatment should the need ever arise. This will enable medical professionals to meet their highest ethical obligations and to fully inform their patients.

“The law was modeled on language used in Colorado, which was praised by public health care officials and others. The language replicates the same process already in place for the same purpose and has existed for decades in the federal Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) and the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

“We thought this was a good, proactive approach. Now Pennsylvania has the most progressive hydraulic fracturing disclosure law in the nation. It is designed for transparency and access, and it provides unfettered access to physicians or other medical professionals who need information to treat their patients.

“The law protects proprietary information from disclosure to the general public, but not from environmental or health officials.

“In fact, any citizen can access chemical information, along with the concentrations at which the chemicals are used on a well-by-well basis, through FracFocus.org.

“Act 13, the Marcellus/Utica Impact Law, was crafted to protect our environment -- the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we live upon.”

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