Enviros To Sue EPA Over Fracking Inaction

A coalition of environmental groups intends to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to act on hydraulic fracturing practices and waste disposal that have the potential to affect drinking water resources. The Environmental Integrity Project, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Earthworks, among others, cite EPA’s failure to meet its responsibility under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act to update waste disposal rules that they say are decades overdue. The lawsuit follows a multiyear study that EPA released earlier this year largely dismissing the impact of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, activities on the U.S. water supply. Because each state handles waste from oil and gas operations differently, the groups are calling on EPA to update its current regulations in a way that would establish a minimum national standard for managing waste from the oil and gas industry. The coalition intends to seek legal action in 60 days if EPA does not act to strengthen its regulations for oil and gas wastes.