EPA Issues “Final” Permit for PA Injection Well, Then Rescinds It

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Looks like the word "final" doesn't really mean "final"--at least for the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA issued a "final permit" to Windfall Oil and Gas to drill a wastewater injection well near Dubois (Clearfield County), PA in February (see New Wastewater Injection Well Approved in Clearfield County, PA). The EPA's exact language when issuing the permit after 18 months of evaluation: "Based on all of the public comments received, EPA is issuing a final permit to Windfall Oil and Gas." The "final" permit allows Windfall to operate the well until 2019 (see a copy of the permit below). But then anti-drillers got involved and pressured the EPA. So the EPA has just taken the "unusual step" of withdrawing it's "final" approval for the injection well. What's it called when someone changes his or her mind on a whim? Oh yeah, flaky...

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