WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representatives of the Ohio, Texas and Utah state governments told the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday their states can effectively monitor hydraulic fracturing without federal intervention they fear would impose an inappropriate one-size-fits-all approach to oil and gas drilling throughout the country.
Richard Simmers, who heads the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, told the committee he "unequivocally" believes it is "most effective, efficient and economical" to regulate oil and gas exploration at the state level. He said states can respond more quickly to problems than the federal government.
For example, he said state officials took less than a week this January to shut down a rogue oilfield operator who illegally dumped waste into a Youngstown-area storm sewer. When Simmers' department concluded last year that earthquakes around Youngstown might have been caused by a brine injection well, the state reacted quickly to ban injection drilling in geologically fragile areas.
"States are best suited to regulate this industry because, if an unexpected incident occurs, we have the appropriate staff on the ground to react in a timely manner," Simmers told the committee.
Utah Lieutenant Governor Gregory S. Bell concurred, accusing the federal government of "overreach," and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry E. Patterson told the committee that "federal policies hamper the development of vitally needed energy."
Democrats on the committee disagreed with that testimony. They said some states are doing a good job regulating oil and gas drilling, but others have failed to safeguard the environment. They said the federal government should step in to establish uniform oversight over hydraulic fracturing around the country.
"Why invent the wheel fifty times and go through fifty state legislatures when standards can be set at the national level?" asked Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat from Pennsylvania.
Trout Unlimited Senior Policy Director Brad Powell told the committee that pollution from energy development on public lands, including spills and storm water runoff, threaten watersheds with important fisheries. He noted that mule deer populations declined after drilling started in their winter habitats.
Powell argued it's particularly important for the federal government to protect federal lands where drilling occurs because federal lands are often used for multiple purposes, like grazing, timber, energy, wildlife and fishing, while state and private lands do not face those extra demands.
The U.S. Department of the Interior released a proposed rule last year that would require public disclosure of any chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands. The department is revising the proposal after receiving public comments, and will release a new draft later this year, says Interior Department spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw.
The Interior Department - which was not invited to testify at Wednesday's hearing - says the regulations would complement state regulatory efforts by establishing a consistent standard and providing accessible information to the public.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, a Washington state Republican dismissed the proposal as "another layer of red tape and bureaucracy."
"The one size fits all regulatory structure being pursued by the Administration is a waste of time and energy," said Hastings. "The difference in regulatory needs between Texas, Ohio and Utah are about as diverse as they can be, yet the administration is proposing a one size fits all rule for federal lands regardless of what state they are in."
The proposed rule wouldn't have as big an effect in Ohio as it would in western states where the federal government owns much of the land. Proposals to use hydraulic fracturing to drill for natural gas in southern Ohio's federally owned Wayne National Forest were abandoned last year after public opposition despite the fact that there are already several hundred oil wells operating in the park, Simmers said.
Simmers said hydraulic fracturing has been going on in Ohio since around 1952, and some 80,000 wells have been fractured in the state. If a property owner near a well believes their property has been polluted, Simmers said the state investigates the problem and works with the property owner and company to resolve it.
When New Hampshire Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter asked Simmers about about
that show homeowners setting fire to their tap water, Simmers responded that their problems could have been caused my many issues other than hydraulic fracturing.
"There is a lot of natural gas in shallow aquifers already, before any wells were drilled," Simmers said. "You need to know what the actual cause is."