Investigate PA DEP for fraudulent frack water contamination reports

“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection produces incomplete lab reports and uses them to dismiss complaints that Marcellus Shale gas development operations have contaminated residential water supplies and made people sick, according to court documents.”

When I read this opening sentence in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette I almost fell out of my chair. This seemed like something from a bad movie from the 1980’s about how the big bad corporate lobbyists have influenced government watchdogs by contributing millions to the state’s governor.

But it’s not a movie. It’s happening now.

Gov. Corbett received $1.3 million from drilling interests in his campaign for governor. He also received another $6 million from organizations affiliated with the drillers.

And in return the drillers received a Department of Environmental Protection that may be routinely falsifying reports to homeowners who ask for their water to be tested.

When homeowners suspect that their water has been contaminated by drilling in their area, they can ask the DEP to check for metals, organic material and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Depositions of two DEP employees allege that the DEP tests for all contaminants, but omits some of the most dangerous contaminants in their reports to the homeowners.

According to the Post-Gazette,
“The omissions include heavy metals, including lithium, cobalt, chromium, boron and titanium,
some of which are human carcinogens or toxics, as well as volatile organic compounds that are associated with hydraulic fracturing fluids.”

If it is true, then it is criminal. Everyone involved should go to jail for putting Pennsylvania’s families at risk.

State Representative Jesse White (D, Allegheny, Beaver, Washington) has called for an investigation for “alleged misconduct and fraud.”

We agree. PA’s enforcement agencies are too tightly controlled by Tom Corbett to conduct an independent investigation. So we’re calling on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether these allegations are true, and if so, to find out who ordered reports that mislead the public and put us all at risk of cancer by hiding the contamination of our water and air.