Before everyone loses their minds over the state grand jury report on fracking (“‘We started getting sores all over us’: Grand jury report blasts DEP, health department over fracking failures in Pa.,” June 25, TribLIVE), let’s remember a few things about how this report was put together.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro is a politician, and like most politicians, I think he does not give a darn about finding scientific accuracy, just the blaring headlines this hearsay report is receiving. Grand juries are not selected for any scientific knowledge. The pool of jurors is chosen at random with the judge in charge and AG having the ability to interview prospective jurors and weed out those who don’t agree with the result desired.
The process is not a trial. The AG presents only the witnesses he wants the grand jury to hear. These witnesses are not required to provide any evidence of their claims, and any claim made is generally accepted on face value.
As to the claim that Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is in the gas companies’ pocket, those of us who have worked in Marcellus-related professions, including ensuring gas companies comply with state DEP and federal regulations, know nothing could be further from the truth. Regulations that shale oil and gas companies must comply with are much more restrictive than what conventional oil and gas companies and industry in general have to comply with.
The old saying is you can indict a ham sandwich, and what we have in this report is indeed a ham sandwich.
Thomas L. Maher Jr.
Rosslyn Farms