Sitton Criticizes EPA
Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton issued a statement criticizing the recent court decision concerning oil and gas waste disposal.
Related: EPA Releases Fracking Assessment
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ended the year by directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and possibly update its regulations on oil and gas waste by March 2019.
The original lawsuit was filed by seven environmental groups who claimed that the EPA has failed to review oil and gas waste regulations and that current regulations are too weak to stop the escape of toxic materials caused by fracking.
Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton issued a statement this week blasting the EPA for adding unnecessary and burdensome regulations to the industry and defending the record of the Railroad Commission.
“There is no rational basis for EPA to layer additional bureaucracy on top of our regulation of oil and gas waste disposal rules. The decision by EPA to settle caters only to environmental groups and adds unnecessary, burdensome regulation to an already suffering energy industry and economy. I am confident that the incoming presidential administration will put an end to this ‘sue and settle’ approach to regulation, stop this type of political gamesmanship and base future decisions on sound science and data, as we do at the Railroad Commission.”
In July, commissioners Sitton and Porter joined officials from several energy states to voice their opposition to the EPA’s Clean Air Act. In the letter, they explaining that no additional federal regulation is needed in this area to protect the public and environment and asking EPA not to collude with environmentalists by settling the case.