The oil and gas industry is exempt from key provisions of seven major federal environmental laws — allowing practices that would otherwise be illegal. Some exemptions date back decades. Others were adopted as recently as 2005.

While states and tribes have tried to fill the gaps with their own rules and regulations, they vary widely in effectiveness and enforcement. Federal laws provide consistent standards that equally protect all Americans. That’s why it’s essential to reverse these federal loopholes.

The oil and gas industry has exemptions from provisions of the following Federal laws:

• The Safe Drinking Water Act – SDWA
• The Clean Air Act – CAA
• Clean Water Act – CWA
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – RCRA
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act – CERCLA
• National Environmental Policy Act – NEPA
• The Toxic Release Inventory of EPCRA

Download the Earthworks paper as a pdf for more information.