A letter failed to acknowledge the strong natural-gas development regulations that protect our environment (“Industry needs rules,” Thursday). We have some of the nation’s most rigorous regulations. As former Gov. Ed Rendell and his then-Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger stated, “Pennsylvania has the strongest enforcement program of any state with gas drilling.”

There are more than 70 shale-related regulations in the commonwealth, and the industry supported a 2012 bipartisan law that further strengthened our regulatory framework. And even though the state Supreme Court struck down some of the law’s key provisions, the industry remains committed to following the more rigorous regulations because it’s the right thing to do.

Air quality is improving. Federal data show the country’s carbon dioxide emissions are at more-than-20-year lows, driven by the expanded use of natural gas.

False claims undermine this important discussion, which should be driven by facts and unbiased science. Let’s stick to the facts, not fearmongering.

Erica Clayton Wright
Marcellus Shale Coalition
Pittsburgh

NOTE: Click HERE to view this letter online.