WASHINGTON—The Environmental Protection Agency has postponed its first rules aimed at reducing air pollution from natural-gas wells that are drilled by hydraulic fracturing, following a last-minute push by oil and natural-gas companies to weigh in on the new standards.
The EPA said in a statement Monday it was postponing the rules by two weeks, pushing back a deadline until April 17. The agency said it needed more time to digest more than 150,000 comments that had been submitted on the rule.
Earthjustice attorney Robin Cooley said environmental groups are "disappointed that EPA hasn't gotten its act together" but said it was important for the agency to develop tighter standards. Earthjustice sued the EPA to compel the agency to develop the rules, resulting in court-ordered deadlines for the agency to do so.
White House records show energy companies and natural-gas groups met at least three times with top administration officials in the last two weeks. Among them were..Read More http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023504577320001195356174.html
