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Stick to fracking science, not the politics
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By Mark S. Critz
Published: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 2:38 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
At a recent U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson justified the agency's “desire to do additional science around hydraulic fracturing ... because the public's trust in that technology we believe is also based on the belief that we are looking to bring the very best science to bear, to ensure that it remains safe.” While no one would argue with the importance of ensuring safety in responsible shale-gas development, recent missteps and questionable actions by the EPA have regrettably cast doubt upon the agency's credibility and ability to put forth the “best science” to ensure the public's trust.
In addition to last month's embarrassing resignation of the EPA's Region 6 administrator for subjectively placing a bull's-eye on the oil and gas industry, the EPA also has shown an anti-gas bias in Pennsylvania with its attempts to torpedo the proposed MARC 1 Pipeline after the project gained approval from the federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
As a result, there is mounting concern that EPA officials are committed to political agendas instead of looking out for the overall best interests of the public.
Additionally, the EPA recently dropped a case in Texas against a company wrongly accused of polluting water wells because of a lack of clear scientific evidence and agreed to retesting water in Wyoming after its methods were questioned.
And on top of this, the EPA recently announced that after conducting its own analysis of drinking water in Dimock, a Pennsylvania town that has become one of the focal points in the hydraulic fracturing debate, no wells with unsafe levels of contamination were tied to hydraulic fracturing.
Fortunately for the American public, EPA's premature conclusions and questionable actions have forced the agency to re-evaluate allegations that hydraulic fracturing has been responsible for environmental contamination. However, the bad news is that through all of this controversy and misinformation on hydraulic fracturing and shale gas, the public has been left holding the bag — with tremendous confusion and concern about the real facts in this debate.
At a time when federal and state regulators continue to seek ways to ensure that natural-gas drilling is done safely, it is imperative that the facts are presented instead of overhyped fears.
Instead of continuing down a path of misinformation that threatens to hinder development of this promising resource, we need to focus on working together to have fact-based discussions that will lead to safe, realistic solutions.
With the huge strides made by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) over the last few generations, there are clear indications that Pennsylvania's hydraulic fracturing regulations are working. And while the EPA has an important role as partners with the state, the agency should avoid stepping into an area that the DEP has a long history of overseeing.
With so much at stake, now is the time for fact-based discussions that will lead to safe and realistic solutions. It is time to raise EPA's level of accountability by sticking to the science and rising above the politics. Working together, we can succeed in safely developing our nation's abundant resources for current needs and for future generations.
Mark S. Critz represents the 12th Congressional District.
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YES, we should stick to real science and facts! However, it is the oil and gas industry guilty of misinformation and word games to mislead about the incredible risks. FACT is "cheap" energy from fossil fuels comes at a VERY high price. There is no such thing as "safe fracking"because they can't build casings that don't FAIL - 6% immediately, half over 20- 30 years and ALL eventually. Just like industry knew tobacco and lead paint was unsafe, the oil and gas industry knows fracking is not safe and never will be. Industry knows it can NEVER prevent contamination to our more precious water, soil and air. FACT is, there will only be short-term profits for top executives, as even the jobs created by fracking will be few, temporary and come at with health and safety risks to the workers and oil and gas produced is a commodity to be sold on the world market to the highest bidders, e.g. China. FACT is we will NEVER be able to live without FOOD and WATER so isn't NOW a good time to wean ourselves off dependence on fossil fuels and invest our resources and subsidies into TRULY SAFE, CLEAN RENEWABLE energy? Do we prefer to stay stuck in the dinosaur age with low gas prices and very, very, very high price for clean, safe water and food?
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