Energy Environmental Blog

PA DEP Under Attack

Written by Greg Russell | Nov 10, 2012 5:25:43 PM

The NYT has an article sensationalizing claims that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been hiding information regarding water contamination:  "Pennsylvania officials reported incomplete test results that omitted data on some toxic metals that were found in drinking water taken from a private well near a natural gas drilling site, according to legal documents released this week."  (The article is entitled, Pennsylvania Report Left Out Data on Poisons in Water Near Gas Site.)

For a more balanced approach, however, see this article from the local Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:  "White and the law firm Smith Butz complain the DEP made judgments and sent reports to landowners refuting claims of well water contamination based on just a few of the chemicals for which it tested. *** That’s common, several water experts said. Lab testing can be extensive and expensive, and anyone who requests a lab test for a specific type of contamination likely will focus on key, telltale chemicals and disregard the rest. *** 'They could have 100 different (contaminants) from an analysis, but they’re going to report what’s related to what they’re trying to investigate,' said David Yoxtheimer, a hydrogeologist at Penn State’s Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research. 'That’s pretty much standard industry practice.'"