Notes from the USEPA's Science Advisory Board Panel for the Review of Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan
This post was written by Nicolle Bagnell and Ariel Nieland.
Reed Smith, represented by Nicolle Bagnell, attended the Science Advisory Board Panel's public meeting on March 7, 2011 in Washington D.C. The purpose of the panel, comprised of a distinguished group of 22 professors and practitioners ranging in expertise from public health, hydrogeology, water quality engineering and environmental justice, is to provide an independent review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) proposed Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan for scientific soundness of the draft plan. The panel was selected from nominations made in response to a request in the Federal Register last July. In addition to the Panel's review, USEPA received over 300 sets of public comments on the draft plan. There were also twelve speakers who provided 5-minute commentaries either in person or by phone and roughly 50 members of the public who attended the meetings.
The meetings began with a presentation from USEPA giving an overview of the Draft Study Plan, along with a discussion of the proposed case studies, which include both retrospective and prospective case studies to be conducted in North Dakota, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. In the Marcellus, two retrospective studies are planned for Bradford and Susquehanna Counties and Wetzel, Greene and Washington Counties. Prospective studies are planned in Washington County at a Range Resources site and also at a Chesapeake site that will likely lie outside of the Marcellus, but has not yet been selected. After the overview concluded, public comments were heard. Public Commenters included Gary Slagel of Consol Energy on behalf of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, Tim Stewart representing the Western Energy Alliance, Susan Olliver, a New York landowner in favor of natural gas production, Dennis Degner of Range Resources, Cynthia Lane of the American Water Works Association, Sara Gingold of Food and Water Watch, Amy E. McDonnell from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Lauren Pagel of Earthworks, Briana Mordick of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Lynn Howard Ehrle from the International Science Oversight Board, Jeff Zimmerman from Damascus Citizens for Sustainability and Friends of the Upper Delaware River and Deborah Cowden, a physician. Generally, the commentators raised issues regarding the breadth and scope of the plan, some arguing it is too broad and others believing it is too narrow, concerns about the sources being used, and calls for unbiased information to be provided to the public as quickly as possible. Concerns were also raised about the treatment of wastewater before it is discharged, particularly in the Marcellus region, and the impact on humans from multiple chemical exposure. Copies of the speakers' written comments are available here.
Once the public comment period concluded, the panel discussed its 5 charges from Director of the Office of Science and Policy and the contents of the draft plan. Those charges generally asked the panel to comment on the appropriateness of the water lifecycle identified by USEPA to characterize hydraulic fracturing to be used as the framework of the plan, whether the research questions identified by USEPA are correct questions, whether the research approach identified is sufficient, whether the proposed research activities adequately answer the questions, and whether the proposed research will be able to identify the key impacts, if any, of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources and provide relevant information on the toxicity and exposure pathways of chemicals associated with hydraulic fracturing. Lively discussion, and at some points debate, ensued as the experts discussed comments, critiques and questions about the proposed plan. In particular, it seemed that the panel wanted some of the terms used, such as "water quality," to be better defined. The panel also agreed that the research questions were too general and needed to be made more specific to comply with the requirements of a scientific approach to answering the questions. Another overarching theme to the discussion was the need to study the interrelatedness of not just the many steps to drilling, but also the impact of increased drilling in a region over many well sites.
Once completed, the Panel will provide comments to the USEPA for consideration before the final Study Plan is published.
