Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania 17th Congressional District, has asked the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) to provide records about its process for monitoring the handling and disposal of wastes from hydraulic fracturing. Rep. Cartwright made the request as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs, which is part of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Waste from hydraulic fracturing is regulated as a non-hazardous waste by state governments under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act. “The Subcommittee minority is conducting this oversight to determine if state regulations and monitoring of fracking waste are sufficient to ensure accuracy, completeness and compliance with applicable environmental laws, ” Rep. Cartwright said in a letter to DEP Acting Secretary Dana Aunkst. Rep. Cartwright cited a July 2014 report from the state’s auditor general concluding that Pennsylvania’s current system of oversight of fracking waste “is not an effective monitoring tool” and is “not proactive in discouraging improper, even illegal, disposal of waste.” Rep. Cartwright asked for the records to be produced by November 12, 2014.
The full text of Rep. Cartwright’s letter to the DEP can be found here. Rep. Cartwright won reelection to a second term on November 4, 2014.
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713 651 3662) and Michael Gaetani (michael.gaetani@nortonrosefulbright.com or 724 416 0400) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
