1,000 Attend EPA Hearing on Safety of Fracturing

Washington PA Observer Reporter
23 July 2010

CANONSBURG - More than 1,000 people attended the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hearing Thursday night to speak out about the hydraulic fracturing process used by the natural gas drilling industry.

The process is used by gas companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale, which covers Southwestern Pennsylvania and extends from West Virginia as far as New York.

Many called upon the EPA to issue a moratorium on drilling until further study is done to determine if the process and its additives are safe.

"The Marcellus Shale gas has been there for thousands of years, and I think we can wait a little longer," said Sue Smith of Peters Township.

Others noted that the process is already well-regulated by states. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection permits each gas well.

"It's so sad to see so many of my fellow Pennsylvanians beg for more regulation without the DEP just doing its job," said concerned citizen Robert Howard.

The EPA was mandated by Congress this year to study hydraulic fracturing, which is used in gas plays around the country. As part of that study, the agency is holding four public hearings. The one in the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe was the third hearing. The last one will be held Aug. 12 in Binghamton, N.Y.

More than 130 people had two minutes each to testify before the panel during the five-hour hearing. They included several Washington County residents, many of whom have had negative experiences with drilling. People also traveled from West Virginia, New York and Clearfield County, Pa., where a gas well exploded in June, to testify.

Many said their water was tainted after drilling took place, including Rebecca Skirpan of Hickory, who said that's when her family noticed a change in their water's smell and taste.

"We do not believe our water is safe," she said. "I feel my family's health and safety are at risk."

"If this is a safe or even an acceptable practice, why did Congress, the federal government and you, the EPA, exempt them from clean air and safe drinking regulations?" asked Deborah Lee of Cecil.

However, Paul Battista, who operates SunnySide Supply out of Slovan, said not only has his business increased but so has the business of other local companies. While delivering to a job site recently, he saw other businesses delivering ice, water and setting up portable toilets for drillers.

Most of those who spoke in favor of the industry did so beginning about 9 p.m., at a time when a large number of those attending had left.

Gregory Wrightstone, with the Pennsylvania Coalition for Responsible Government, noted about 85 speakers had spoken before him, "railing against the Marcellus Shale."

To the sound of boos, Wrightstone asked if those people had ridden their bicycles to the hearing or used windmills to provide electricity for their homes. If not, he suggested they thank the natural gas industry.

"Fears of an environmental disaster are overblown and have little relation to technology," he added.

Kathryn Klaber, executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, noted that a four-year study by the EPA in 2004 concluded there was no evidence of water contamination from the hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane reserves. Those reserves are shallow and therefore much closer to the water table than shale formations, she said.

Dr. Charles Christen, with the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities through the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health, noted that while the industry claims hydraulic fracturing has been done for 60 years, that type of process refers to conventional vertical wells.

"For 60 years, fracturing has not been done in the Marcellus layer," he said, suggesting evidence shows that chemicals can move through the gas layers to contaminate aquifers.

The panel consisted of Dr. Fred Hauchman, director of EPA's Office of Science Policy; Dr. Robert Puls, the agency's technical lead on the study; and Ann Codrington, acting director of the agency's Drinking Water Protection Division.