Responsibility for methane contamination of two Parker County water wells, a controversy pitting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against Fort Worth-based natural gas producer Range Resources, is drawing attention in Congress after disclosure of an e-mail written by EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., a strong backer of the oil and gas industry, sent a letter to EPA inspector general Arthur Elkins Jr., asking him to "obtain and secure, as soon as possible," EPA documents related to the agency's Dec. 7 endangerment order issued against Range.In the order, the EPA said two of Range's Barnett Shale wells "caused or contributed" to the contamination. EPA regional enforcement official John Blevins has backtracked on that assertion, saying at least twice in a sworn deposition that Range "may" have caused or contributed to contamination.Inhofe's request follows disclosure of the e-mail message sent by Armendariz on Dec. 7, shortly before a news release announcing the order against Range and after Armendariz was interviewed by WFAA/Channel 8 in Dallas.Armendariz's e-mail said: "We're about to make a lot of news. The first story has already been printed. There'll be an official press release in a few minutes. Also, time to Tivo channel 8."The e-mail included a link to a Channel 8 broadcast in which Armendariz said evidence was "very strong" that methane in the wells was "coming from the production activities of Range." Methane is the primary component of natural gas.Among the e-mail's recipients was Sharon Wilson, the Texas organizer for the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project, which has called for changes in drilling practices.Before joining the EPA, Armendariz, a professor at Southern Methodist University, called for changes in Barnett Shale drilling and production, which he said contribute to air pollution in North Texas.Range officials and other industry participants cite the e-mail in questioning the EPA's professionalism and objectivity, calling the agency's well investigation flawed and incomplete.David Poole, general counsel for Range, previously told the Star-Telegram: "From Range's perspective, when Dr. Armendariz got on TV and said there were people out there whose homes were in danger of blowing up, he either was willfully ignorant of the facts, or lied. And I don't know which one it was, but it was one or the other."EPA had to come up with some level of endangerment or they didn't have any basis to issue an order, so they made it up," Poole said.Armendariz has said the agency was "very concerned" that methane could migrate into homes through water lines.Range says the methane contamination did not come from its Barnett Shale wells.Instead, Range maintains that the gas came from the much-shallower Strawn formation, into which gas wells were drilled in prior decades.Jack Z. Smith, 817-390-7724Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
