COLUMBUS — “Energy companies eager to tap natural gas and oil from Utica and Marcellus shales in Ohio soon could face air-pollution limits on their new wells…
However, a coalition of environmental groups, including the Ohio Environmental Council and the Center for Health, Environment and Justice say the proposed permit has several loopholes that would help companies avoid installing pollution filters.
The permit, for example, wouldn’t limit air pollution from drilling or ‘fracking,’ in which millions of gallons of water laced with industrial chemicals and sand are pumped underground to crack apart the shale and release the gas and oil.
Settles said no limits are needed because drilling and fracking are ‘temporary activities.’
Teresa Mills, Ohio organizer for the advocacy group Center for Health, Environment and Justice, said hazardous compounds including benzene, a compound linked to leukemia, can evaporate into the air from the waste water that results from fracking.
‘There is the potential for a large amount of fugitive emissions coming from the drilling of natural-gas wells that would never be taken into consideration,’ Mills said.”
— Spencer Hunt, Columbus Disptach
