Cartwright Drafts Letter to EPA Urging Action on Water Contamination Issues

Washington – Today, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter – cosigned by 7 Democratic House colleagues – to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy.  The letter urges EPA to address water contamination issues, resulting from drilling, in three specific communities:  Pavillion, Wyoming; Dimock, Pennsylvania; and Parker County, Texas.

In each of these cases, the EPA made an initial investigation but either closed or abandoned their investigation before providing adequate answers to the citizens of these communities about the cause of their water contamination problems.

“Presently, oil and gas companies operate independent of our environmental and health laws due to unnecessary exemptions afforded to those industries.  Unconventional drilling operations can pose a serious environmental and health risk to numerous communities across the country by polluting water sources,” said Cartwright.  “Access to clean drinking water is a basic right.  Therefore, we ask that Administrator McCarthy investigate and address the water contamination in these three distressed communities.”  

While the letter acknowledges the positive economic impact of oil and gas production, it states that “a patchwork of state regulations, exemptions from many of our federal environment laws and a lack of enforcement” have resulted in hazardous conditions.  The letter requests that McCarthy take any and all steps within the EPA’s authority to help the aforementioned communities.

Cartwright, a member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), has been a strong advocate for responsible environmental policy.  In 2013, Cartwright introduced H.R. 1175, the FRESHER Act, and H.R. 2825, the CLEANER Act, in order to ensure that the oil and gas industries follow the same rules that other industries do in preserving our natural resources.  These bills would ensure the safety and the health of the communities where processes such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are already taking place.