Federal, state agencies still sparring over shale
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A recent letter from the head of the state Department of Environmental Protection to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official called the federal government's understanding of a local well water contamination issue "rudimentary," further straining relations between state and federal regulators regarding the Marcellus Shale.
John R. Hanger -- special counsel in Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott's Harrisburg office and, up until January of last year, secretary of the DEP -- described the current interaction between state and federal environmental regulators as "a relationship showing stress, as opposed to a relationship showing mutual understanding and a commitment to working together."
"I don't think we have outright war, nor do we have a smooth working relationship," Mr. Hanger said. "It would seem the relationship, at best, is not ideal."
He also said that politics probably plays a role in the friction.
"Secretary Krancer works for a conservative Republican governor and Shawn Garvin works for a Democratic president," Mr. Hanger said.
"It's pretty obvious that some of their political differences are entering into some of the communication. I think that's too bad. I think the political tensions need to be buried. They shouldn't intrude into these discussions."
The most recent example of this tension came -- as it has in the past -- in the form of written correspondence between DEP Secretary Michael L. Krancer and Shawn M. Garvin, the Region III administrator for the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.
In a letter to Mr. Garvin dated Jan. 5, Mr. Krancer addressed the EPA's recent indications that it was considering sending clean water to the residents of Dimock, in Susquehanna County, about 30 miles north of Scranton.
The EPA said it was mulling the decision after the DEP had allowed driller Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., which is alleged to have contaminated several wells in Dimock, to discontinue delivering water to the town.
The company had been trucking in fresh replacement water to Dimock pursuant to an agreement it had reached with the DEP in 2010 after state regulators determined that the company's drilling practices had contaminated a number of wells in the town.
But late last year, the DEP told Cabot it could stop the water deliveries since it had fulfilled its duty by reaching settlements with the families affected by the contaminated wells.
Since then, a spokesperson for the EPA has been quoted in the media as saying the agency is still trying to decide whether to send water to the town.
In his Jan. 5 letter to Mr. Garvin, Mr. Krancer seemed chafed by the EPA's involvement in the matter.
"Based on my conversation with you, it was clear that EPA is really at the very early stages of its learning curve with respect to Dimock, and EPA's understanding of the technical facts and DEP's enforcement history with respect to Dimock is rudimentary," Mr. Krancer wrote.
"As you are well aware, the DEP has a great deal of working knowledge regarding this matter from our experience there over the last several years."
Mr. Krancer wrote that science and fact have been "eclipsed" by a "high degree of neighbor-versus-neighbor emotion" in Dimock, a situation that has been "further complicated by the backdrop of a pending plaintiffs' personal injury litigation, not to mention the attention of visitors, out-of-state politicians and celebrities, many of whom are not even from the area, looking for and receiving publicity."
The letter continued, "we in Pennsylvania would like to see your efforts at EPA with respect to this be based on cooperative, fully science-based and peer reviewed analysis," he wrote.
An EPA spokesperson acknowledged in an emailed statement Jan. 13 that the agency received Mr. Krancer's letter.
"As the secretary acknowledges in his letter, Mr. Garvin reached out to him regarding EPA's activities in Dimock, Pa.," the statement read. "EPA intends to work cooperatively with [the] DEP. We continue to keep Mr. Krancer and the department updated as we're actively reviewing the situation in Dimock and filling information gaps."
A DEP spokesperson could not be reached.
The Dimock episode was not the first time since Mr. Krancer took over the DEP in January 2011 that the secretary has sent a clear message to the EPA that he feels the state should be the primary regulator of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.
The EPA, meanwhile, has taken steps to send a message of its own to the DEP. That message appears to be: We're watching you.
In March of last year, Mr. Garvin sent a letter to Mr. Krancer saying studies have shown that drilling wastewater "contains variable and sometimes high concentrations of materials that may present a threat to human health and [the] aquatic environment."
In addition, the letter said the EPA would be conducting well site and treatment facility inspections. Mr. Garvin wrote that "EPA is prepared to exercise its enforcement authorities as appropriate where our investigations reveal violations of federal law."
Mr. Krancer seemed to bristle at Mr. Garvin's letter in his April 6 reply, saying the federal agency "overlooks DEP's strong and ongoing efforts to protect the environment and public health."
First Published January 23, 2012 12:00 am
