A Top House Democrat is leveling the first bill aimed directly at President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced a bill Thursday that aims to stop earthquakes tied to the drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in states such as Oklahoma, where the phenomena has become of major concern.
The “Preventing Preventable Earthquakes Act” directs the Environmental Protection Agency and state officials to put in place standards to prevent the type of manmade earthquakes that have become common in places where drillers are fracking.
“The bill would ensure that Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, whose deep ties to the oil and gas industry have already received widespread coverage, would address the issue as head of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration – a step he refused to take as attorney general,” Grijalva’s office said.
Grijalva quipped that the bill is simple to understand, even for Pruitt. “This bill just says environmental officials should prevent earthquakes they can prevent,” Grijalva said. “It’s that simple. Anyone, including Scott Pruitt, who wants to argue against that goal with a landowner, a town resident or a family should be ready to flunk the straight face test.”
Rules established by the Oklahoma public service commission in May have begun to reduce the number of quakes, according to a study from Stanford University lsat month. Grijalva did not point out that fact in his statement.
The EPA standards would not target fracking directly, rather the use of waste-water injection that is commonly used to dispose of the water associated with the drilling method. Fracking wells use large amounts of water to break up shale rock deep underground to extract oil and natural gas. The water is then injected in underground aquifers for storage. The injection of water has been directly linked to earthquakes in a number of states where fracking has begun.
Regulators in Ohio, where earthquakes soon became an issue in the eastern part of the state, solved the problem by reducing the rate at which the water was injected after being used to frack natural gas.
Grijalva argues that such procedures have not been effectively administered, and his bill would direct the EPA, or a state with enough enforcement authority, to put in place mandatory waste-water injection rules.
He said Thursday that the issue poses a specific threat in Pruitt’s home state because of its role as the nation’s largest oil and gas transportation hub and petroleum storage center in Cushing.
“The risks in Oklahoma are especially acute because of the frequency of earthquakes near the town of Cushing, which is one of the country’s most heavily trafficked oil pipeline hubs and contains approximately 13 percent of the nation’s crude storage capacity,” according to Grijalva’s office. “The Cushing facilities are not designed to withstand strong earthquakes, and even a single major quake could lead to devastating economic and environmental consequences.”
Scientists reported last month that Oklahoma experienced 907 earthquakes in 2015, before the new rules were established, which is a record 4,000 percent increase over the last eight years.
Grijalva plans to reintroduce the legislation in January, as the House stands to adjourn for the year on Thursday, “and make the effort a priority in the 115th Congress.”
