Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Senate Committee Asks For More Time To Review Drilling, Erosion Regs

The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee today voted to extend the Committee's time to comment on final changes to erosion and Total Dissolved Solids discharge regulations related to oil and gas drilling for 14 days.
By a vote of 10 to 2, the Committee voted for the extra time to allow, Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), Majority Chair of the Committee, said to consider the comments of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission on the regulations it will consider June 17.
Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Lackawanna) and Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) voted against delaying two sets of state regulations relating to gas drilling.
“With so much drilling activity occurring, and more to come, we must have sufficient standards and safeguards to protect public health and the environment. My vote reflects the feelings of many individuals in our area who are deeply concerned that these important protections are not yet in place,” Sen. Baker said.
“The well blowout last week reminded us that technology is not fail-safe. Even the best emergency response is no substitute for upfront protection,” she pointed out.
“While I understand that parts of the regulations can be improved, there is a sense of urgency here. Time is not the ally of communities that have to deal with the consequences if something goes wrong at another drilling site,” Sen. Baker stated.
Sen. Mary Jo White noted at the meeting the Department of Environmental Protection was already imposing the Total Dissolved Solids standards for oil and gas operations through permit conditions.
Copies of the regulations are available on the May 17 Environmental Quality Board meeting webpage. The entire agenda for the Committee's meeting today is available online.

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