Matter of Trust: Gas drillers Must Let the EPA Assess the Risks
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
9 March 2011
Tom Ridge, the front man for Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale gas
drilling industry, struck the right note last week at a public
roundtable in Canonsburg.
Three days after an accident and fire injured three workers at a gas
compressor station in Washington County, the former governor said the
industry must be more forthcoming in providing the public with
information. His audience included state legislators, township
supervisors and congressional aides. At one point Mr. Ridge said that
even "if there are missteps, [the industry should] acknowledge it,
correct it."
Pennsylvanians, many of whom have mixed emotions if not outright fear
of this energy and environmental phenomenon, are all in favor of that.
Which is why it was disturbing to read a report in Friday's New York
Times that the drilling industry had worked quietly behind the scenes
in the Reagan administration for looser controls -- a practice that may
be happening all over again.
The report said that Congress in the 1980s was considering tougher
regulations for handling oil and gas drilling wastes, but that pressure
from the White House Office of Legal Counsel caused research findings
from the Environmental Protection Agency to be altered before they were
sent to lawmakers in 1987. "It was like the science didn't matter,"
study author Carla Greathouse told the Times.
Yet science does matter, as home-owners with polluted wells can attest.
The newspaper quoted scientists and lawyers at today's EPA who worry
that history could be repeating itself, as the agency conducts a broad
study into deep gas drilling and its risks. Internal documents indicate
that the scope of the study "was narrowed after pressure by the
industry and allies in Congress, as well as budget and time
constraints," the Times reported.
Still, after seven Pennsylvania rivers were found to have no radiation
problems related to Marcellus Shale drilling, the EPA has said it will
take a more active role in reviewing permits and environmental impacts
in the state.
That brings us back to the message of Tom Ridge.
If the industry truly wants to build trust, it must be open with the
public. To us that means not only when there are mishaps, but also when
EPA scientists want to study the potential hazards and prescribe the
necessary degree of oversight.
It's one thing for Marcellus Shale drilling to work for the industry.
It will work for Pennsylvanians only when they're kept informed, their
health and environment are protected and regulators can keep a watchful
eye.