You can’t have a cooperative relationship with state agencies that are held captive by a mafia.
States are failing to enforce oil & gas rules and that was proved using their own data. People are being harmed.
EPA looks to build bridges at state regulators’ gathering
Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E reporter
EnergyWire: Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Bob Sussman wants to create goodwill between the EPA and the states but the only way that will happen is if the EPA lets the states continue to be compromised.
“We know through all of our experience that if we are not very careful, very thoughtful with how we do this study, we’re going to get attacked,” he told EnergyWire after his speech. “Above all, we want this to be a credible study, so we’re working very hard on that.”
Cowboy up! Use the best science and tell the truth. Then it will be a credible study. What the states do should not influence the study.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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It looks like the EPA is trying to be “friendly” to the pollution friendly agencies(TCEQ & RRC) in the pollution friendly state of Texas. They are trying to make friends! What is needed is for the EPA to treat these agencies and the polluters as the enemy, not friends! When the polluters start to hate the EPA, then we will know that progress is being made.
The EPA should be cracking down and exposing the failure of state regulation!
The problem is, the EPA has already made a lot of enemies here in the Oil and Gas Republic of Texas by trying to protect the pesky citizens from “clean” oil and gas operations. And at the end of the day, the EPA’s funding (or lack thereof) is controlled by the US Congress, a large portion of which is made up of people like Cruz, Inhofe, etc who would love nothing more than to get rid of environmental protections entirely. (“Let them eat Hydrocarbons!”)
So the republicans can conceivably cut the funding to the EPA if it hurts their Oil and Gas overlords’ profits enough. And you know they are trying (and probably succeeding) right now. I’m not making excuses for the EPA, although it’s certainly the only agency that is a least making some effort to protect our air and water, but I’m just saying the EPA can only step on so many toes before it gets de-funded.
The White House is sitting on the EPA. It’s not really the agency’s fault.