DEP extends comment period on policy to address oil and gas violations

• Marie Cusick
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  Marie Cusick was the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is extending the public comment period on a draft policy to update how it responds to and tracks oil and gas violations.
The previous six-page policy was last updated in 2005. The new draft document is more than three times longer and includes a new section related to documenting and resolving water supply investigations. In August the DEP released its accounting of how many water supplies had been adversely impacted since the shale gas boom began. The list includes 243 incidents.
The public comment period for the proposed policy was scheduled to close next week, but the DEP extended it by 15 days and will now accept comments until November 18th.
In a notice filed last week, DEP’s acting Secretary Dana Aunkst said the policy revisions are needed due to changes in the oil and gas industry and the organizational structure of the department.
In July state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released a highly critical audit of the DEP, faulting it for mishandling water quality complaints related to gas drilling.
 

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