SavetheWaterTable.org recently hosted members of the WV Office of Environmental Health and the DEP.  We are incredibly appreciative that they offered us their time and energy, and took the time to travel to Monroe County and visit with us.  We look forward to another visit in the near future.

After having discussed a wide variety of questions (of which we may hope to provide a written narrative in the future), we as a community feel increasingly educated as to the powers at work and the systems in place (and/or not in place) surrounding the hydraulic fracturing enterprise.

Writing as a resident of Monroe County who attended this meeting, I would like to offer a couple simple summations from my perspective.

• The answer to a great deal of questions concerning how hydraulic fracturing would affect the environment, and in particular, fracking in karst, is:  We don’t know.  The DEP knows there are many unanswered questions.  And we are very pleased to know that their follow-up is:  We don’t know, but we intend to find out – which is why the DEP is performing a PROGRAM REVIEW in which they are reviewing all ordinances and regulations as well as the processes themselves to determine what additional measures may be required to frack safely.
• The proposal for this Program Review is set for November 1st, and it will be conducted on a timeline to be determined at some point thereafter.
• It is during this program review, I am confident the DEP will find enough wrong with hydraulic fracture in its current state and enough additional risks associated with performing the operation in karst or within watersheds – that they will disallow the process in this area completely until further technologies insure that it can be done with zero/minimal impact to the environment.
• The DEP has a lot of power.  A LOT OF POWER.  They give the permits to the operators which allows them to drill.  Not only do they have carte blanche the power and the responsibility to determine whether permits should be given AT ALL – but they also have the power to include additional provisions in the permits that require the operation to go above and beyond the policies laid out by current legislation.  This is monumental strength – it means that in advance of the completion of a full Program Review and the resulting change in policy, as a protective measure, the DEP can deny all permits to hydro-frack until more information is gathered and better policy is enacted.
• As for current legislation – there are special requirements for karst in other states – but as of yet, not in WV.  This desperately needs to change ASAP!
• The DEP is horrifically understaffed, which we can extrapolate to mean underfunded.  Our government must find a way to correct this and fast!  There are currently 17 inspectors in WV to cover all drilling activity.  This is terribly under-prepared.  Even if we end up with good policy and ordinance, they are useless if they are not enforced with an iron fist.
• VERY IMPORTANT: The permits to drill in WV have a two-year life.  The conditions and policies active on the day the permit is signed remain active for the length of that two years, regardless of whether the relevant policies change in the interim.  That means if a company was permitted to drill BEFORE the Program Review is completed – despite the possibility that the Review would ultimately create policy that would further regulate the process or may even disallow it completely – the active permits would remain alive, and those operators could continue to conduct business as usual for the full two years.  That’s a long time – and an incredible amount of damage could take place as our county plays guinea-pig in hydraulic fracturing in karst 101 class, having just missed the new legislation that is designed to protect us.  We cannot allow that to happen.
• Accordingly – as a community, we must focus!  URGE THE DEP TO NOT ISSUE PERMITS!  And at a bare minimum, to not issue permits until the Program Review has been completed, water can be tested, an environmental impact study can be completed – and the smart and savvy members of the DEP and EPA and state offices, health departments, geologists, water technicians and community leaders can each and all assure us that no harm will come to our land, no harm will come to our water at the hands of this “clean” energy endeavor.  If this cannot be promised, then a moratorium should be established immediately until further time when such assurances can be made with confidence.

Contact Gene Smith, a gracious member of the DEP who visited with us on Monday.  He is very knowledgeable and a great communicator and works together with James Martin, Chief of the Office of Oil and Gas of the DEP.   Send him an email : gene.c.smith@wv.gov