I am writing to express my concerns about the new proposed changes to Virginia's oil and gas regulations. I live in the region and work in Virginia's natural gas industry in Southwest  Virginia. Burdensome regulations that do little, if anything, to improve safety, will hurt Virginia’s industry. I would like to remind you that these proposed regulations, some of which our industry has been  supportive of, do have real consequences on our companies, jobs and families.

While I can support some of these regulations, I would like to point out that several of these proposed regulations do nothing more than solve hypothetical problems and add unnecessary costs to an industry operating with a proven safety and environmental record for decades.

Special interest groups whose sole purpose is to oppose fossil fuesl use are encouraging  their members to write letters with views opposing mine and encouraging them to cite studies that have no credibility and that have been debunked as information and funding linking the authors to anti-fossil fuel groups has come out, forcing the study authors to acknowledge they cannot credibly link oil and gas activity to the concerns they cite in their studies.

I ask that you look at the actual proven FACTS as you move forward in this process. Look at the FACT that Virginia's natural gas industry has operated safely for more than 80 years. Please consider the FACT that the EPA, USGS, Yale, Harvard, Colorado State University, Syracuse, Stanford, and the California Council on Science & Technology have all confirmed the safety of hydraulic fracturing.  Please consider the FACT that Virginia currently has strong regulations regarding casing and cementing requirements.  Please consider the FACT that Virginia's natural gas and oil industry contributes approximately $12 billion and thousands of jobs to Virginia's economy. Please consider the FACT that in 2014 alone, Virginia’s natural gas industry produced enough fuel to power approximately 1.2 million households.

FACTS not HYPOTHETICALS need to govern this process. Regulations which do nothing more than solve hypothetical problems and add unnecessary costs to an industry operating with a proven safety and environmental record for decades can have an impact on thousands of very real Virginia jobs, and the very real families they support.