Congressional drilling critics call on EPA to reopen pollution probes
E&E News
By Mike Soraghan
April 2, 2014
A Democratic House member from Pennsylvania and seven colleagues are asking U.S. EPA to renew their work in three communities where the agency bailed out of shale drilling contamination cases.
EPA jumped into the cases in Dimock, Pa.; Parker County, Texas; and Pavillion, Wyo., several years ago. Since early 2012, the agency has slowly retreated without full explanations, often leaving many unanswered questions.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy yesterday, Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) wrote that those involved in the cases deserve EPA's assurance that their water is safe.
"Members of these communities currently do not have safe, clean drinking water and need EPA's help to address the ongoing water contamination issues in their homes," Cartwright wrote.
Cartwright's letter acknowledged that the drilling boom made possible by advances in hydraulic fracturing technologies has "brought us closer to energy independence, created jobs, lowered fuel prices, and generated incredible profits for oil and gas companies."
But it said a regulatory "patchwork" and weak enforcement have imposed hardships on many people near drilling sites.
Also signing the letter were Democratic Reps. Alan Lowenthal of California, Jared Huffman of California, Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, David Scott of Georgia, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Rush Holt of New Jersey.
The letter was touted by the environmental groups Earthworks and Food & Water Watch but panned by the industry group Energy in Depth.
"It's fitting that today is April 1, because it's hard to see this as anything other than a bad joke," said Energy in Depth spokesman Steve Everley. "The anti-fracking groups who pressured these lawmakers into writing the letter keep telling the press that they want 'local control' over development. How is involving a federal bureaucracy consistent with that strategy?"
Friction all around
The EPA investigations had represented increasingly bold intervention in the drilling debate, implying or even proclaiming that state officials did not do enough to protect their own residents.
In addition to sparking outrage from industry, they created friction with political leaders and regulators in the states. Pennsylvania's top environmental regulator, appointed by a Republican governor, called EPA's understanding of the Dimock situation "rudimentary." A Texas elected official called EPA's move in his state a "frontal assault" on drilling.
On the other hand, some activists and neighbors of drilling operations applauded EPA officials for taking on a powerful industry when state government was unable or unwilling.
State officials are the primary regulators of the country's boom in onshore oil and gas drilling, and industry likes it that way. Most state oil and gas agencies are charged with both regulating and promoting development.
Cartwright, who defeated a conservative Democrat in a newly redrawn district in 2012, has been an aggressive supporter of increased federal involvement. In his first year in Congress, he sponsored several proposals to reverse exemptions to portions of federal environmental laws enjoyed by the oil and gas industry, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act.
Cartwright's district is in eastern Pennsylvania, and reaches within about 50 miles of Dimock but does not include it.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection shut down Cabot Oil & Gas wells in the Dimock area for more than two years, fined the company, and eventually negotiated a $4.1 million settlement in which all the affected homeowners got at least two times the value of their home and kept any mineral rights.
The state also ordered Cabot to deliver water to affected residents for more than two years. In October 2011, the state said Cabot could stop.
In 2012, EPA did testing and determined that the specific practice of hydraulic fracturing had not contaminated the Dimock wells with fracturing fluid, as many activists had alleged. EPA said its testing showed there was no need for further action.
The state has allowed Cabot to resume well completion and production in the area, but has not allowed the company to drill new wells in the area.
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