White House Report Says States Are In Best Position to Regulate Shale Drilling

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From Energy in Depth:
A new report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) demonstrates that states, not the federal government, are best suited to regulate shale development. The report counters a common criticism from “ban fracking” groups, who have pushed for the U.S. EPA to regulate development. 
As the report states: 
“The regulatory structure for addressing local environmental concerns, especially around land and water use, exists primarily at the state and local level.” (p. 280) 
This complements the findings of the Groundwater Protection Council, which concluded last year that states are “on the forefront of regulating oil and gas.” As EID reported recently, states like Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, California and Colorado are also leading the way on regulations for wastewater disposal wells. The regulatory actions by these states are far more advanced than what EPA would require – and, because they have the flexibility to implement their own programs, they can easily update and strengthen their regulations whenever improvements are needed, without having to navigate through a lengthy federal bureaucracy. 
In fact, the conclusions from the CEA report join a long list of experts and regulators who understand states are best equipped to regulate shale development. 
Read the entire article by clicking here. 

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