Environmental organizations were livid when hydraulic fracturing (also known as “fracking”) was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act by the 2005 Bush-Cheney Energy Policy Act. Fracking is a process used by oil and gas companies that involves injecting fluids or propping agents underground in order to release natural gas reserves. But despite the step back in environmental protections this exemption caused, diesel was a specific exception in the law; diesel was not exempt from the regulations outlined by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
But according to a congressional investigation, oil and gas companies were found to have used 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel for fracking – without permits – in the four years following the Bush-Cheney Energy Policy Act. Without seeking permits or performing the required environmental reviews, these companies were in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.