EPA heightens scrutiny of Pa.’s Marcellus Shale

Tugging on rubber gloves, a laboratory worker kneels before a gushing spigot behind Kim Grosso’s house in rural northeastern Pennsylvania and positions an empty bottle under the clear, cold stream. The process is repeated dozens of times as bottles are filled, marked and packed into coolers. After extensive testing, Grosso and dozens of her neighbors will know this week what may be lurking in their well water as federal regulators investigate claims of contamination in the midst of one of the nation’s most productive natural gas fields. More than three years into the gas-drilling boom that’s produced thousands of new wells, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Pennsylvania are tussling over regulation of the Marcellus Shale, the vast underground rock formation that holds trillions of cubic feet of gas. The state says EPA is meddling. EPA says it is doing its job. Grosso, who lives near a pair of gas wells drilled in 2008, told federal officials her water became discolored a few months ago, with an intermittent foul odor and taste. Her dog and cats refused to drink it. While there’s no indication the apparent problems are related to drilling, she hopes the testing will provide answers. “If there is something wrong with the water, who is responsible?” she asks. “Who’s going to fix it, and what does it do to the value of the property?” Read the full story by The Associated Press here.