The Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be in Pittsburgh tomorrow to conduct a hearing into how they can illegally regulate oil and gas drilling through the back door of so-called “fugitive” methane emissions, which they claim are insanely high in shale plays like the Marcellus/Utica (announcement of EPA hearing). The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), headed by the PennFuture Secretary of the DEP, John Quigley, will be on hand to support the EPA’s illegal effort. The DEP is planning their own draconian regulations for controlling so-called “fugitive” methane emissions–even though it’s in the best interests of the industry to trap every last molecule of methane they can (it’s what they sell!) and even though year after year the industry gets better at doing it–virtually eliminating fugitive methane. Makes no difference–the heavy hammer of government is preparing to come down to make extracting natural gas more expensive and less profitable with senseless new regulations by Big Brother…
