Texas Cites EPA Error in Testing of Wells
Wall Street Journal
23 March 2011
By Russell Gold
AUSTIN, Texas—In an ongoing bout between Texas and the Environmental
Protection Agency over the safety of gas drilling, the Lone Star State
claimed a victory Tuesday and took the opportunity to criticize the
federal agency.
Texas regulators said that extensive testing showed that flammable
water wells west of Fort Worth were not contaminated by nearby gas
drilling, as the EPA maintained. Instead, they said, evidence shows
that the gas in a shallow water aquifer was migrating up from a rock
formation directly underneath it.
The gas had a different "geochemical fingerprint" from gas found and
extracted a mile lower in the Barnett shale rock formation, Texas
officials said.
"This is an example of overreaching at its worst," said Michael
Williams, one of three elected commissioners who oversee oil and gas
drilling. The EPA "has a built-in bias against the fossil fuel energy
industry."
Tuesday's finding by Texas officials comes about three months after an
EPA order to shut down the gas wells to prevent two houses from
exploding.
At the time, the EPA criticized the state agency that regulates
drilling, the Texas Railroad Commission, for failing to address the
situation.
In a written statement, the EPA responded that it is standing by its
belief that gas drilling contributed to the contamination and said it
would not comply with Texas' request to rescind its earlier order.
The state finding "is not supported by EPA's independent, scientific
investigation," the agency wrote.
That didn't stop Texas officials from alleging that the federal
government peddled shoddy science. "Do your job based on facts," Jim
Keffer, chairman of the Texas House of Representatives energy
committee, said in an interview after speaking at the hearing. "Don't
go out and yell fire in a crowded theater."
Texas officials said the EPA used incomplete testing to determine that
the gas found in the water wells was identical to gas found a mile
below where Range Resources Corp. was cracking open shale rocks. Range,
which has continued to operate the wells, is fighting the EPA in
federal court to overturn the order that declared that its operations
were endangering local residents and shut its wells.
"We will continue to respect the legal process and expect the EPA to
rescind their order now that there is definitive scientific evidence of
the natural cause of this issue and safety of residents," said Range
spokesman Matt Pitzarella.
Attempts to reach the owners of the water wells and their attorneys
were unsuccessful.
While the case involved only two water wells, it has drawn national
attention because of EPA statements criticizing state regulators for
failing to protect the public. As natural-gas drilling expands across
the U.S.—and with it the use of hydraulic fracturing to break open rock
formations—there has been growing fear that public drinking water isn't
being protected adequately.
Texas has long looked favorably on natural-gas development and believes
its oversight of the industry sets the standard. Gas production has
significantly increased in recent years and the state collected $725.5
million in production taxes in its most recent fiscal year. The
legislature has been actively looking for new ways to promote gas
usage, from generating more electricity from the fuel to building a
string of fueling stations for gas-powered vehicles.
This isn't the only showdown between Texas and the EPA. State officials
have refused to comply with federal attempts to regulate greenhouse
gases. The state attorney general has brought two lawsuits against the
EPA to block its new greenhouse-gas rules, which require oil refineries
and other emitters to reduce their emissions. Texas officials say the
new rules are an attempt by the federal government to control
industrial development and could choke economic growth.
Write to Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com