A fracking quandary for EPA

IF THE United States is going to curb its greenhouse gas emissions, it desperately needs a replacement for the high-carbon coal that fuels almost half the nation

Now new deposits of natural gas previously locked in shale formations are making that fuel look like a possible transition to a low-carbon future. Federal and state regulators have to ensure, however, that the rush to exploit this new source of gas does not cause severe environmental damage. The US Environmental Protection Agency could have been an effective referee over this process. Yet the gas industry managed to slip into the 2005 energy bill an exemption from EPA review of the special drilling that shale formations require. Congress should repeal that provision.

Boston Globe