Environmental justice alarms sounded when an oil industry executive made public remarks about how drilling sites get selected.
"Two environmental organizations will ask the state’s Office of Environmental Justice to review Range Resources’ past and future shale gas development practices to determine if the company has avoided drilling in wealthier neighborhoods and targeted poorer areas of the state," reports Don Hopey.
The concern arises after remarks by Terry Bossert, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Range Resources. Bossert "told a Pennsylvania Bar Institute gathering in Harrisburg earlier this month, that the company tries to avoid siting its shale gas wells near 'big houses' where residents might have the financial resources to challenge the industrial-type developments."
The article includes more discussion about the implications and seriousness of Bossert's remarks, but Hopey also examines the work of the state Office of Environmental Justice, part of the state Department of Environmental Protection, to analyze and regulate issues of environmental justice.
Read the full story: Range Resources exec's well-site remarks drawing sharp criticism
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