EAB UIC Permit Remand Could Set Strict Test For EPA Comment Response

摘要

EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) has remanded to the agency an oil and gas drilling wastewater underground injection control (UIC) permit because EPA failed to properly respond to a citizen's comments on the permit, which could set a strict precedent on the extent to which the agency must address public input on permits. EAB issued a July 26 order in In re: West Bay Exploration Company remanding a Michigan drilling firm's UIC permit to EPA Region 5 because its response to comments did not address claims raised by a speaker at a public hearing on the permit. The speaker had raised concerns that waste from West Bay's operations could dissolve underground rock formations and enter groundwater.