The Western Energy Alliance offered testimony on Wednesday before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's Subcommittee on Energy & Environment regarding the December Environmental Protection Agency draft report tying groundwater pollution in Pavillion, Wyo., to nearby hydraulic fracturing sites. Here are the details.
* According to Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs for Western Energy Alliance, in a news release said the EPA's data doesn't match the conclusions it released in its nonpeer reviewed draft report. Sgamma, who testified before the subcommittee, said hydraulic fracturing is vital to America's energy supply but that misinformation about the process has caused the public to fear it.
* Oil and natural gas producers are held to high regulatory standards that carry legal and financial responsibilities, Sgamma said. Sgamma called for better oversight of EPA science through a requirement that all agency studies be reviewed by credible third parties.
* Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris said in his opening statement, available from the subcommittee's website, that the shale gas industry supported 600,000 jobs in 2010, making the industry "one of the few bright spots in our current economic climate." In Wyoming, he said oil and gas production supplies jobs to "tens of thousands of people" and added $2 billion in state and local revenues in 2010.
* According to a Dec. 8 news release that accompanied the EPA's draft report, investigation into Pavillion's groundwater began three years ago. The EPA constructed two deep monitoring wells to sample water in the aquifer that supplies water to the community and stated in its report that it found an indication that the groundwater contains compounds likely associated with gas production practices including hydraulic fracturing conducted by producer Encana nearby. EPA announced that it would be releasing the draft findings for public comment and submitting them to an independent scientific review panel.
* On Dec. 20, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asking for a more cooperative scientific review and analysis of the groundwater quality in Pavillion. After that letter went unanswered, he sent another letter on Jan. 17, stating, "Both Wyoming and the EPA should have a common goal of unbiased, scientifically supportable finding open to the public. I believe providing answers and information, making these available to the public and peer review panel, and extending the comment period accordingly are the best ways to accomplish this."
* The EPA announced on Jan. 18 that it is inviting the public to nominate scientific experts to be peer reviewers of the draft report. Nominations are being accepted through Feb. 17. Jackson responded to Gov. Mead on Jan. 19, stating the EPA is a science-driven agency that takes its obligation to high standards of scientific integrity seriously. The EPA plans to convene a panel of five to seven experts, unaffiliated with the EPA and screened for conflicts of interest, to review the report, Jackson stated, adding she expects at least one person recommended by the state who meets selection criteria will be named to that panel.
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