The feds are once again sniffing around shale gas drilling done in the individual states with an eye toward regulating it. This latest effort does not come from the EPA, which is on its own mission to regulate shale drilling via the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, nor does it come from the Dept. of Interior with onerous new rules for fracking on federal lands. This effort comes from the Dept. of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The two agencies have signed a “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) to “identify and monitor the potential impact of shale gas production on air quality and [mythical] greenhouse gas emissions.”
Sprinkle in important sounding phrases like “science-based,” “core competencies,” and “human health,” pull in an alphabet soup of other agencies like DOI and EPA, and voilà: A brand new way is born to regulate oil and gas drilling by the feds…
