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DEP’s New Oil And Gas Rules Irk Both Environmentalists And Industry

AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
In this photo made on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, a pumping truck is seen near the well where pumps move a brine water below the surface in a hydraulic fracturing process to release natural gas from shale deposits in Zelienople, Pa.

State environmental regulators are asking for comments on the final version of new oil and gas rules. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection released detailed updates to its oil and gas rules Wednesday. The proposals result from a four-year process that garnered nearly 30,000 public comments to DEP.  Still, this latest version is getting push back from both industry and environmentalists.

In a call with reporters, DEP Secretary John Quigley called the announcement a “great step forward in responsible drilling in Pennsylvania.”

“DEP’s definition of responsible drilling is protecting public health and the environment while enabling drilling to proceed,” said Quigley.

Although the release of the draft rules marks the final leg of a long process that began as a result of the passage of the state’s drilling law Act 13 in 2012, Quigley says there’s more to come.

Read more of this report at the website of our partner StateImpact Pennsylvania.