Keep Tap Water Safe

“At the end of the day, my job is to make sure gas is done and gas is done right,” said Michael Krancer upon his appointment to Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

Really? I thought the PA DEP mission was to “protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment,” and to “work as partners with individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources.” [SOURCE: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us]

Krancer may dismiss his critics for using “bad” science and having alternate agendas, like solar and wind, but it seems to me, an average interested citizen, that if the PA DEP was truly protecting our drinking water resources, they would wait until further “good” science is concluded before approving so many new gas drilling permits!

The PA DEP would also support the FRAC ACT because it would help them do their job more effectively. If drillers were required by law to publicly disclose fracking chemicals, the agency would have already known what chemicals were exploding from Chesapeake’s LeRoy, Bradford County well blowout on April 19. They would not have had to ask the company for it on April 22.  As of May 5, 2011, neither Chesapeake nor the PA DEP has made this information available to the public.

In all fairness, according to PA Environment Digest, Krancer also said his main job in regulating Marcellus Shale drilling is to protect the water. “There will be significant changes in the way the state’s energy policy is done. In the past, the DEP Secretary was the be-all and end-all for energy policy. ‘You’re not going to see that anymore,’ Krancer said. He said he will be part of a team, working with the Governor’s Energy Executive Patrick Henderson, to address energy issues.
 He noted Pennsylvania needs a diversified energy portfolio– nuclear, coal, natural gas, solar and wind– for the future.'”

“I want to leave a legacy as a good enforcer,” Krancer said.

Tags: Shameless Gas Promotion

This entry was posted on May 9, 2011 at 6:03 pm and is filed under fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.