MARK RUFFALO ON BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT

(Photo of Mark Ruffalo: Water Defense.org)



Courtesy of WaterDefense.org



Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo released a statement in response to accusations that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) has been fraudulently manipulating lab results of residents whose water had been tested for possible contamination by fracking. State Representative Jesse White called for a federal investigation of the agency after obtaining a deposition filed by a high-ranking DEP official in a lawsuit against Range Resources for allegedly contaminating drinking water supplies in Washington County, PA. In the deposition, the whistleblower states the DEP lab conducting the water testing would assign a special code to the lab tests of fracking victims, specifically screening out results for toxins that are associated with drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Mark Ruffalo:



“It seems that what so many of us have suspected is proving to be true. The Pennsylvania's DEP has been playing fast and loose with scientific evidence and in the process has endangered the health and well being of the citizens it is supposed to protect. A full federal investigation should be opened to see the extent of the agency’s corruption and negligence. It is my hope that the victims of fracking, from Washington County to Dimock Township, who have been demonized for fighting to protect their families’ clean water, will be exonerated. It is clear that the gas and oil industry is behaving as if it is above the law. In the case of high-volume hydraulic fracturing, it is literally above the law, as it is exempt from even the basic environmental protections, like the Safe Drinking Water Act. And, as evidenced by the PA DEP’s and Governor Corbett’s refusal to hold gas and oil corporations accountable for their misdeeds, state and local officials are all too often either too beholden or simply too inept regulate such a rogue industry.”