The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it is discontinuing the public comment period of its draft research report on alleged groundwater contamination from natural gas wells drilled near Pavillion, WY, which formally brings the agency’s inquiry into the matter to a close.

The draft EPA research report, “Investigation of Ground Water Contaminations near Pavillion, WY,” was prepared by the National Risk Management Research Laboratory within the EPA Office of Research and Development, and EPA Region 8, the agency said.

The EPA notice, which was published in the Federal Register Wednesday, comes about two and a half months after the state of Wyoming announced that it would take the lead in the continuing investigation of the potential impact of natural gas production activities on drinking water in the Pavillion region, with the cooperation of the EPA, which suspended activity on its investigation (see Shale Daily, June 24).

In June, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said “once again, after several years of review [of Pavillion], EPA has decided, as it did in Pennsylvania and Texas, that the states effectively regulate energy development. EPA’s reliance on Wyoming regulators and the fact that it is discontinuing work on its draft report shows that the science on this issue did not support a continuing federal role in Pavillion.”

Having won the long-running battle over who is to lead the activity, Mead said the state intends to conclude its investigation, which will involve as many as 14 water wells in Pavillion’s oil/gas field, and release a final report by Sept. 30, 2014. “The state seeks to clarify water quality concerns and assess the need for any further action to protect drinking water resources,” he said.

Earlier this year, the EPA for the fourth time extended the public comment period for its investigation into groundwater contamination near Pavillion, this time until Sept. 30. The agency’s decision was the latest salvo in a long-running controversy between the EPA, the state of Wyoming, Pavillion residents and a subsidiary of Encana Corp., which drills natural gas wells in the area.

Controversy erupted in December 2011 after the EPA released a draft report that said chemicals normally used in natural gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking), were present in groundwater samples collected in Pavillion over a two-year period (see Shale Daily, Dec. 13, 2011). It was the first time a federal agency had linked groundwater pollution with fracking.