Natural gas is still booming in several areas of the country, inciting heated debate about the practice of hydraulic fracturing and the safety of groundwater in communities where gas is extracted. A new report shows that regulations placed on this industry vary widely from state to state. Some findings in the report: Drillers in Texas can dump oil and gas wastewater into unlined pits, while California bans such pits and requires the fluid to be stored in tanks. Ohio has no statewide requirement to report accidents and spills, and New Mexico has the fewest inspectors per well.
Researchers from Resources for the Future, an environmental think tank, looked at regulations in gas-producing states and created maps like the one above "showing the different state policies on issues like wastewater, enforcement and well construction standards," Energy & Environment News reports. To see all the maps, click here.
The researchers are trying to determine whether the differences are based on factors including geology and population density or institutional factors, such as the makeup of governments. "The effort could introduce more facts to a long-standing argument over the effectiveness of state regulation of oil and gas," E&E News reports. While environmental groups want drillers regulated by federal law, "The oil and gas industry prefers dealing with individual states rather than the federal Environmental Protection Agency," because state agencies aren't charged with "exclusively protecting human health and the environment."
"State laws order most of them to balance regulation with promoting oil and gas development, and they frequently have close ties to the local industry," E&E News reports. A Greenwire review last year found that more than 40 percent of state oil and gas officials come from the oil and gas industry. E&E News reports state agencies were created at a time when environmental protection wasn't a priority, and their main goal was to control production and protect oil from water. (Access to E&E News requires a subscription)
The researchers are trying to determine whether the differences are based on factors including geology and population density or institutional factors, such as the makeup of governments. "The effort could introduce more facts to a long-standing argument over the effectiveness of state regulation of oil and gas," E&E News reports. While environmental groups want drillers regulated by federal law, "The oil and gas industry prefers dealing with individual states rather than the federal Environmental Protection Agency," because state agencies aren't charged with "exclusively protecting human health and the environment."
"State laws order most of them to balance regulation with promoting oil and gas development, and they frequently have close ties to the local industry," E&E News reports. A Greenwire review last year found that more than 40 percent of state oil and gas officials come from the oil and gas industry. E&E News reports state agencies were created at a time when environmental protection wasn't a priority, and their main goal was to control production and protect oil from water. (Access to E&E News requires a subscription)
No comments:
Post a Comment