{"id":5600,"date":"2012-02-08T16:11:12","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T22:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=5600"},"modified":"2012-02-09T17:43:23","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T23:43:23","slug":"another-round-in-texas-vs-the-epa-dont-touch-our-fracking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/02\/08\/another-round-in-texas-vs-the-epa-dont-touch-our-fracking\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Round in Texas vs. the EPA: &#8216;Don&#8217;t Touch Our Fracking&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_3293\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Railroad Comissioner David J. Porter believes the report is flawed, but says more research should be done. \" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/Commissioner-Porter.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3293\" title=\"Railroad Comissioner David J. Porter\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/Commissioner-Porter-300x216.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/Commissioner-Porter-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/Commissioner-Porter-620x448.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/Commissioner-Porter-220x159.jpg 220w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\"> <\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Railroad Comissioner David J. Porter believes the report is flawed, but says more research should be done.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Looks like those hoping the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/texas-and-epa\/\">conflict between Texas and the Environmental Protection Agency <\/a>(EPA) would cool down after Rick Perry&#8217;s departure from the presidential race are in for some disappointment. On Tuesday, the <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/railroad-commission-of-texas\/\">Railroad Commission of Texas<\/a>, which regulates drilling in the state, fired a shot across the bow of the EPA. The message? Don&#8217;t touch our fracking.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/16\/fracking-report-reverberates-in-texas\/\">letter to the EPA<\/a>, all three members of the Railroad Commission call to re-classify a December draft report that found a link between fracking and water contamination in Wyoming. Instead of labeling it a &#8220;draft&#8221; report, they want <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/epa\/\">the EPA<\/a> to call it a &#8220;highly influential scientific assessment,&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/epw.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.PressReleases&amp;ContentRecord_id=fc90a723-802a-23ad-45ce-cc405e3fd9b2\">a request also made by several Republican senators<\/a> in late January.<\/p>\n<p>Why do they want the new language? The commission says that under White House guidelines, if an investigation or report is &#8220;controversial or precedent-setting&#8221; then it is first released as a &#8220;highly influential scientific study&#8221; before becoming a &#8220;draft&#8221; report.<\/p>\n<p>If this seems like semantics, and you&#8217;re scratching your head as to why the Railroad Commission of Texas cares about an <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/08\/fracking-contaminated-water-supply-epa-says\/\">EPA report on wells in Wyoming<\/a>, there&#8217;s a clear explanation. <!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/01\/20\/deadline-extended-for-comment-on-epa-fracking-contamination-investigation\/\">Deadline Extended for Comment on EPA Fracking Contamination Investigation<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/20\/fracking-company-goes-on-the-offensive-against-epa-contamination-report\/\">Fracking Company Goes on the Offensive Against EPA Contamination Report<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/16\/fracking-report-reverberates-in-texas\/\">Fracking Report Reverberates in\u00a0Texas<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/08\/fracking-contaminated-water-supply-epa-says\/\">Fracking Contaminated Water Supply, EPA\u00a0Says<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/07\/Hydraulic-FrackingBarnettShaleDrilling-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/hydraulic-fracturing-2\/\">How Does Hydraulic Fracturing (\u201cFracking\u201d) Work?<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/11\/Class1Wells-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/injection-well\/\">How Do Disposal Wells\u00a0Work?<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/109921310-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/topic\/epa\/\">Everything You Need to Know About the\u00a0EPA<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The Railroad Commission fears (as do many in the drilling industry) that the EPA investigation could be used as a pretext for federal regulation of fracking, which is currently overseen on the state level.<\/p>\n<p>There is some bad blood between the two. In August 2010, a couple in Parker County, outside of Fort Worth, reported problems with their tap water to the EPA. Specifically, it had a lot of methane and &#8220;was bubbling and even flammable,&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.epa.gov\/region6\/region-6\/tx\/tx005.html\">according to an EPA website<\/a> about the case. Their land was adjacent to several fracking operations of Range Resources, a drilling company. The EPA quickly <a href=\"http:\/\/yosemite.epa.gov\/opa\/admpress.nsf\/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d\/713f73b4bdceb126852577f3002cb6fb!OpenDocument\">ordered a &#8220;substantial endangerment order<\/a>&#8221; against Range Resources, saying that their fracking had &#8220;caused or contributed to the contamination of at least two residential drinking water wells.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But in a later deposition, John Blevins, an official at the regional office of the EPA, was more cautious about making a direct link. He\u00a0said that nearby fracking by Range Resources &#8220;may have caused or contributed&#8221; to methane contamination of the drinking water wells. The Railroad Commission <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rrc.state.tx.us\/pressreleases\/2011\/032211.php\">launched their own investigation<\/a>, and found no link between the fracking and water contamination. In the end, the couple&#8217;s suit was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.star-telegram.com\/2012\/01\/29\/3695446\/water-pollution-suit-against-range.html\">thrown out by a state district judge <\/a>and it isn&#8217;t clear if they&#8217;ll appeal. Range Resources maintains that the well was contaminated by a\u00a0naturally-occurring\u00a0shallow gas field in the area.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3474\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Louis Meeks\u2019 well water contains methane gas, hydrocarbons, lead and copper, according to the EPA\u2019s test results.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/meeks-louis-475px.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3474\" title=\"meeks-louis-475px\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/meeks-louis-475px-300x178.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/meeks-louis-475px-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/meeks-louis-475px-220x130.jpg 220w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/files\/2011\/12\/meeks-louis-475px.jpg 475w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Photo by Abrahm Lustgarten\/ProPublica (Creative Commons)<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Louis Meeks\u2019 well water contains methane gas, hydrocarbons, lead and copper, according to the EPA\u2019s test results.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The commission says the EPA&#8217;s Wyoming report &#8220;seems\u00a0to be a repeat of the template EPA followed in the Range Resources case: first, make a &#8216;preliminary,&#8217; unproven assertion that will be perceived by the media and the public as a\u00a0condemnation of hydraulic fracturing, then quietly back away once the science has proved the\u00a0assertions to be false.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that the geological conditions and fracking depths in Wyoming are unique and far different from what you&#8217;d find at most drilling sites in Texas. In essence, the Wyoming well was drilled much shallower than what you&#8217;d find here.\u00a0University\u00a0of Texas\u00a0Geologist Chip Groat told StateImpact Texas after the EPA report was released in December that<a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2011\/12\/16\/fracking-report-reverberates-in-texas\/\"> fracking is different here<\/a>. \u201cWe do have several thousand feet with impermeable rock layers between fracturing depths and shallow ground water,\u201d Groat said, \u201cSo I think its a safe thing to say that conditions are much different here. And much more protective here than they are up\u00a0there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Railroad Commission maintains that there hasn&#8217;t been &#8220;a single proven case of groundwater\u00a0contamination occurring as a result of hydraulic fracturing&#8221; and that they have &#8220;stringent rules on how oil and gas wells are constructed, requiring several layers of steel casing and cement protection through aquifers.&#8221; The EPA is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.epa.gov\/hfstudy\/casestudies.html#criteria\">currently investigating a case of potential drinking water well contamination<\/a> in the Barnett Shale in Denton and Wise counties. That case study is separate from the Range Resources investigation.<\/p>\n<p>As for the EPA report on contamination from fracking in Wyoming, it is <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/01\/20\/deadline-extended-for-comment-on-epa-fracking-contamination-investigation\/\">open for peer review until February 17 and public comment until March 12<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Read the full letter from the Railroad Commission to the EPA:<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-documentcloud\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/291069-jackson-epa-020712.html\">https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/291069-jackson-epa-020712.html<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Looks like those hoping the\u00a0conflict between Texas and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would cool down after Rick Perry&#8217;s departure from the presidential race are in for some disappointment. On Tuesday, the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates drilling in the state, fired a shot across the bow of the EPA. The message? Don&#8217;t touch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":3293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[12,96,50,39],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5600"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5731,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5600\/revisions\/5731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}