Pennsylvania officials approved Thursday a proposal to prevent pollutants from natural-gas drilling wastewater from further tainting waterways and drinking water. "The rule would put pressure on drillers to reuse the wastewater or find alternative methods to treat and dispose of the brine, rather than bringing more truckloads of it to sewage treatment plants that discharge into waterways where millions get drinking water," Marc Levy of The Associated Press reports. The proposal was approved by a 4-1 vote by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission. (Read more)
In testimony before the vote, Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger told a state Senate committee that "companies flocking to Pennsylvania to exploit the rich Marcellus Shale natural gas reserve must stop well blowouts, gas migration and water pollution," Levy reports. "He said he has seen examples of negligence and accidents and cited his agency's actions to withhold new permits, stop a company's operations or seal wells when safety is compromised."
"We need this industry to get the message from us that we expect that safety is not going to be sacrificed when those decisions have to be made, and there will be serious consequences" if it is, Hanger said. Hanger's 90 minutes of testimony came at a hearing called in response to a gas-well blowout this month that spewed drilling wastewater into the air for 16 hours. (Read more)
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