We’ve reported frequently on the efforts by U.S. EPA to inject itself (yes, pun intended) into the hydraulic fracturing debate. Now the NYT is reporting that the Regional Director for EPA Region 6 has issued an order to a Texas producer to provide water supplies to residents whose water wells have been impacted by methane and benzene (see here). To do so, however, EPA has ignored the work of the Texas Railroad Commission, which has stated that EPA’s actions are premature: “Texas officials accused EPA of grandstanding and making ‘false claims’ about its actions. ‘If this is another EPA action designed to reach predetermined conclusions and to generate headlines rather than conduct a successful environmental investigation, then the public is poorly served,’ TRC member Elizabeth Ames Jones said. ‘The commission will not deny due process to the parties involved in spite of the false claims made against our investigative actions by the EPA staff.'” (Emphasis is ours.)
