EPA Implicates Fracking in Groundwater Pollution
AP is out with a report that the Environmental Protection Agency is, for the first time, tying hydraulic fracturing – a controversial method of getting natural gas out of the ground known for short as “fracking” – to groundwater pollution. The agency says it found compounds likely linked to fracking chemicals in the groundwater beneath a Wyoming community where residents say their well water “reeks of chemicals.” Environmentalists have long been saying fracking is bad news, in the face of industry denials and a well-funded corporate PR campaign. The decision, notes AP, “has major implications for a vast increase in gas drilling in the U.S. in recent years.” This is a BFD.
For essential background on fracking and the controversy around it, check out this Rolling Stone story: The Fight Over Fracking by Alexander Zaitchik.