FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 9, 2015
Contact:
Joanne
Kilgour, Director Sierra Club PA Chapter, O: 717-232-0101, C: 412-965-9973, joanne.kilgour@sierraclub.org
Thomas
Au, Conservation Chair, Sierra Club PA Chapter, P: 717-234-7445, thomxau@gmail.com
Sierra Club Responds to DEP Release of Draft
Oil and Gas Regulations
One year ago, in March
of 2014, the Sierra Club was among the 24,000 individuals and organizations
that submitted comments on proposed revisions to state oil and gas regulations,
referred to as “Chapter 78.” Today, the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) released its updated draft of these regulations,
which will be open for additional 30-day comment period. These draft
regulations reflect an impressive attention to detail and responsiveness to
public comments.
In joint comments with
other environmental organizations, we asked DEP to require that all wells,
whether active or inactive, orphaned or abandoned, be identified prior to
drilling, and we are pleased to see that DEP is proposing a requirement that
operators submit a permit application that includes a map of all active,
inactive, abandoned and orphaned wells prior to drilling.
We agree that centralized open waste impoundments must be addressed, but we remain concerned that DEP's requirement that such impoundments be phased out or upgraded to meet residual waste regulations may not address pollution risks in a timely manner. Under DEP’s proposal, it may take more than 3 years before open storage of waste is eliminated.
In response to these
changes, Sierra Club PA Chapter Conservation Chair, Tom Au stated:
"We welcome this new draft, which responds to community concerns. We appreciate DEP's willingness to address pollution problems that have resulted from lax regulation of the shale gas industry. We need vigorous on-the-ground checks to ensure that new requirements are put into practice."
Sierra Club PA Chapter
Director, Joanne Kilgour added:
“We applaud DEP for
taking steps to better protect human health and the environment. Importantly,
DEP proposes a prohibition on the use of temporary on-site waste storage pits,
and would require operators to restore drinking water supplies to pre-drilling
condition or to meet state Safe Drinking Water Act standards. We will continue
to advocate for regulations and enforcement that best protect our communities,
and hope to see the Department further strengthen its approach to a number of
issues including centralized wastewater impoundments, which should be
prohibited due to significant risk of air and water pollution, as well as risk
of human exposure to hazardous substances.”
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