The regulators at the federal Environmental Protection Agency listened to the concerns of the oil and gas industry. Then they made adjustments in proposed air quality standards for the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing.

The result is the balanced approach unveiled recently, the industry gaining flexibility in the implementation, the agency fulfilling the mandate of the Clean Air Act, protecting public health and making an advance in mitigating climate change.

The process of fracturing involves injecting a combination of water, sand and chemicals into underground shale rock. This is followed by a “flowback,” the natural gas and other chemicals coming to the surface, resulting in emissions of methane, plus toxic, cancer-causing pollutants such as benzene and hexane. Nearby residents, along with environmental groups, have complained about health problems and other harmful effects.

Agency officials, thus, had an obligation to act, and to consult with the industry in devising the best way forward.

This is a national challenge, the 13,000 wells drilled each year requiring a uniform set of rules.

What the EPA has achieved isn’t simply a deft balancing act. It has orchestrated something consequential, no less than one of the country’s most productive efforts to combat climate change.

— Akron Beacon Journal,

Ohio, April 22

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