Public comment period extended on EPA Pavillion report

The Environmental Protection Agency announced it is extending the public comment period on the draft Pavillion ground water investigation to March 12. It's an attempt to allow all stakeholders and the public additional time to review the report and its related documents. On Tuesday, the EPA invited the public to nominate scientific experts to be peer reviewers of the draft report. Nominations will be accepted through February 17th. In December, Gov. Matt Mead wrote a letter to EPA officials saying that the study’s conclusions weren’t supported by available evidence, and earlier this week, he released a follow-up letter saying the agency hadn’t responded. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson replied yesterday to Governor Mead saying, “The evidence supporting the likely role of fracturing in the observed contamination is exhaustively presented in our draft report.” Jackson added she would extend the ongoing comment period on the draft report, and would schedule a listening session in Cheyenne at a date to be announced.