We have posted before about the tremendous economic promise of fracking technology, and the attempts of the plaintiffs bar to exploit this promise.  Another piece of the evolving puzzle has been the regulatory issues.

House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment Chairman Andy Harris (R.-Md.) earlier this month sent a long letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson requesting information and documents related to the Agency’s activities with respect to hydraulic fracturing.

The letter expressed frustration with EPA’s “lack of transparency and responsiveness” surrounding its fracking approach, and with the agency’s “confusing and questionable” approach to fracking regulation.  The letter cites numerous examples of EPA “leaping to scientific conclusions before having all the facts.”  These include claims that fracking operations in Parker County, Texas, had affected drinking water, later retracted; and alleged fracking contamination in Dimock, Pa. only later to conclude the water was safe to drink.

The letter worries that such examples, while individually very troubling, “collectively suggest EPA is not objectively pursuing an improved understanding of the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water, but rather is determined to find fault with the technology in order to justify sweeping new regulations.”