The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might not be viewed as a friend to the natural gas and oil industries, but the agency is not an enemy to them either, according to Bob Sussman, senior policy counsel to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson.

“Make no mistake – EPA sees positives in the development of natural gas shales,” he said during his keynote speech at Hart Energy’s DUG East conference this week in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sussman stated that both the Obama administration and the EPA are committed to the continued domestic production ...