EPA: Fracking not causing major harm to drinking water. Do You Trust The EPA?

2015-06-04T22:03:19-04:00

Hydraulic fracturing has not caused any major harm to drinking water supplies, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded Thursday.

In what the EPA is calling the most comprehensive examination of existing data and science on the impact the controversial oil and natural gas drilling technique has on drinking water, it largely debunked concerns about extensive contamination of well water or other sources.

And while the draft report released Thursday is largely a win for industry, which has said for years that fracking is completely safe, the EPA recognized some “potential vulnerabilities in the water lifecycle that could impact drinking water.”

“EPA’s draft assessment will give state regulators, tribes and local communities and industry around the country a critical resource to identify how best to protect public health and their drinking water resources,” Thomas A. Burke, an EPA science adviser and top official in its research office, said in a statement.

“It is the most complete compilation of scientific data to date, including over 950 sources of information, published papers, numerous technical reports, information from stakeholders and peer-reviewed EPA scientific reports,” he said.

Fracking is the main force behind the oil and gas renaissance seen in recent years in the United States, leading it to become the top gas producer in the world and putting it on a course to top oil producer.

The process involves injecting water and chemical additives into wells at high pressure to break shale rock and unleash additional oil or gas.

The main conclusion of the nearly 1,000-page report is the researchers did not find that fracking has “led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.”

But it nonetheless outlined situations in which problems could occur, like when the fracking goes directly into formations that hold drinking water resources, wells are not adequately constructed or wastewater is not treated appropriately before being discharged into areas where drinking water is drawn.

The industry took the report as a major victory.

“After more than five years and millions of dollars, the evidence gathered by EPA confirms what the agency has already acknowledged and what the oil and gas industry has known,” Erik Milito, director of upstream operations at the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement.

“Hydraulic fracturing is being done safely under the strong environmental stewardship of state regulators and industry best practices,” he said.

The report will become final after the EPA’s Science Advisory Board approves it, and it goes through a public comment period.

Green groups have long complained that fracking pollutes groundwater, drinking water and the air, among other problems. They point to research from Pennsylvania, Colorado and New Mexico showing hundreds of instances of water pollution from the practice.

On Thursday, environmentalists focused on the EPA’s conclusions on possible drinking water harms, saying the study proves their arguments.

“The EPA's water quality study confirms what millions of Americans already know — that dirty oil and gas fracking contaminates drinking water,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement.

The group also called out the EPA for the limitations on its study and called for more thorough research.

“Unfortunately, the EPA chose to leave many critical questions unanswered,” Brune continued. “For example, the study did not look at this issue under the lens of public health and ignored numerous threats that fracking poses to drinking water.”

The EPA acknowledged numerous limitations to its research, including insufficient data and other sources of water pollution.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2015 10:07 PM

2015-06-04T22:07:34-04:00

No but read the article most of the risk is due to accidents. We have MSAs with most of the major oil companies if you have one accident on your record you do not work for them anymore and the EPA fines everyone into bankruptcy

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made Jun 4 at 2015 10:07 PM

2015-06-04T22:07:36-04:00

pretty sure that isn't definitive.

Response by MSgt Brian Welch made Jun 4 at 2015 10:53 PM

2015-06-04T22:53:20-04:00

If you drink "purified" water you probably have never witnessed what that's all about; and you'd switch to bottled water from Maine. If you draw your water from a well, it's much closer to the surface than any fracking operation; meaning pollutants from above are more likely than from below. Maybe if you picture a well in your back yard and the neighboring farmland's fertilizer and pesticides run off toward your well that only 200' deep you'd be more concerned about that.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 5 at 2015 6:52 AM

2015-06-05T06:52:19-04:00

2 words - "Federal Agency" - no fracking way.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 5 at 2015 8:44 AM

2015-06-05T08:44:45-04:00

Funny side note is that this is a picture of a bunch of Pump jacks, the freaking frackers don't use pump jacks. Fact is this technology has put us on top of world production of Natural Gas and crude oil. The EPA would have us all living in caves especially under the current administration.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 5 at 2015 8:51 AM

2015-06-05T08:51:46-04:00

If you want the "real" fact about this "fracking" see the attached video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4aOMKhkhSc

Safe Fracking

It's in the news!

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jun 5 at 2015 10:45 AM

2015-06-05T10:45:07-04:00

Gasland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasland

Gasland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gasland is a 2010 American documentary written and directed by Josh Fox. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2011, the film focuses on communities in the United States affected by natural gas drilling and, specifically, a method of horizontal drilling into shale formations known as hydraulic fracturing.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 5 at 2015 2:30 PM

2015-06-05T14:30:03-04:00

The Oil Industry and EPA are probably arguing the rock formations and water solution is a closed system, but nothing is a completely closed system.

Response by SPC Anna Larson made Jun 26 at 2016 11:16 PM

2016-06-26T23:16:18-04:00

after this? nope, not at all. Poisoning our water sources all over the country. That's not "protection."

http://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/four-corners/2016/05/23/new-mexico-sues-epa-over-gold-king-mine-spill/84801730/

New Mexico sues EPA over Gold King Mine spill

NM Attorney General Hector Balderas filed the complaint on the mine spill response on behalf of the state Environment Department in federal court.

Response by SSgt Judd Deszeld-Lyons, MHA made Sep 2 at 2016 8:16 AM

2016-09-02T08:16:17-04:00

I don't trust the EPA look at Flint and the vast majority of bottled water is proven to be tap water with a little more filtration. I drink Kangen water. 1 in 6 homes in Japan have a hospital approved machine. Take a look at the difference http://launch.powerlifepro.com/water?id=foudroyant&tag=rlp

water

Response by MAJ Keira Brennan made Sep 5 at 2016 2:14 AM

2016-09-05T02:14:07-04:00

There was just a 5.4 mg earthquake in OK... Get a life