EPA Task Force Looking for Stricter Control of Marcellus Drilling
There is news that the Region 3 office of the US Environmental Protection Agency According has established a Resource Extraction Task Force to explore how existing EPA regulations and procedures may be used for stricter protection of natural gas extraction in PA, VA, and WV. Headquartered in Philadelphia, this Region 3 Task Force is reported by insideEPA.com to include the Department of Justice and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Although limited by the exemption of hydrofracturing fluids from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the agency may be able to use its authority under the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts. Regardless of what happens in the state legislature this Fall, the prospect of stronger enforcement by the EPA, along with its study of the impact of hydrofracturing on water quality, is good news for the environment.











