WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representatives of the Ohio, Texas and Utah state governments told the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday their states can effectively monitor hydraulic fracturing without federal intervention they fear would impose an inappropriate one-size-fits-all approach to oil and gas drilling throughout the country.
Richard Simmers, who heads the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, told the committee he "unequivocally" believes it is "most effective, efficient and economical" to regulate oil and gas exploration at the state level. He said states can respond more quickly to problems than the federal government.
For example, he said state officials took less than a week this January to shut down a rogue oilfield operator who illegally dumped waste into a Youngstown-area storm sewer. When Simmers' department concluded last year that earthquakes around Youngstown might have been caused by a brine injection well, the state reacted quickly to ban injection drilling in geologically fragile areas….To Read More…
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