Inhofe Praises EPW Report On Hydraulic Fracturing

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, is praising a committee Republican report he asserts dispels the falsehoods perpetuated by the Obama administration and environmental extremists about hydraulic fracturing. He adds that environmental activists insist that the well-stimulation technique has a devastating impact on the environment, but decades of studies and empirical evidence have debunked these claims.

“As I have long said, hydraulic fracturing is a time-tested, safe technology that is absolutely essential to the energy independence of the United States,” says the four-term senator. “Unfortunately, despite the president touting his support of natural gas, the administration’s disdain for the method to extract this clean, cheap energy resource shows little interest in actually supporting the growth of this industry.”

The report, “Setting the Record Straight: Hydraulic Fracturing and America’s Energy Revolution,” is wide-ranging in its criticism of opponents. “Many of the administration’s policies targeting hydraulic fracturing were laid out in a 2007 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which outlined the group’s favored regulatory agenda to attack domestic oil and natural gas development,” it maintains. “The EPA and its far-left allies are accomplishing many of NRDC’s stated goals, often in response to sue-and-settle arrangements or through a similar friendly petition process.”

The report further argues that deep-pocket donors are among the most prominent activists with ties to the administration’s efforts to phase out hydraulic fracturing. “Major environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club and NRDC, are at the forefront, coordinating with EPA, initiating legal challenges to prompt federal action, and blurring the scientific literature with spurious studies.”