Gas Industry Asks Obama to Leave Regulation of Fracking to States

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

September 20, 2011 | 3:29 PM

Susan Phillips / StateImpact Pennsylvania

A drill rig used to frack a well in the Marcellus Shale.

More than 100 organizations signed onto a letter sent to President Obama today, extolling the benefits of natural gas drilling on national security and the environment. The industry pledged to drill safely. And in the letter says state organizations are the best at providing oversight.

“Effective state and federal regulations are in place to ensure this track record continues. However, state regulators have the primary responsibility to conduct inspections, oversee well construction, test wells, track well plugging, and monitor the fracturing process itself. Because they understand the regional and local geological conditions, they are in the best position to protect groundwater and drinking water sources.”

The letter was signed by well-known industry organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, and America’s Natural Gas Alliance. But the list also includes some curious groups from Ohio, including the Ohio State Coroners Association, the Ohio Coin Machine Operators Association, and the Bowling Centers Association of Ohio. We’re not sure of the connection between gas drilling and coroners, candy machines, and bowlers. But the groups must have a lot of sway with the President.