EPA report flawed; fracking has no clean bill of health
EPA report flawed; fracking has no clean bill of health
Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a flawed report claiming that hydraulic fracturing does not have any “widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the U.S.” Your recent editorial inappropriately uses that statement to quell the voices of local citizens, including some with scientific training, who call our attention to the potential harmful effects of fracking such as water contamination and negative health problems.
In its own report, the EPA acknowledges time and again that its study lacked available data from sources independent of oil and gas companies. For example, on pages 5-42 of the report, they state, “However, due to a lack of available data, little is known about the prevalence and severity of actual drinking water impacts.” And again, on page 5-74, “There are documented chemical spills at fracturing sites, but a lack of available data limits our ability to determine impacts.”
The scope of the study was limited to well pad spills so it did not include transportation-related spills, drilling mud spills and disposal spills at injection wells.
Since publication of the EPA report, the University of Texas at Arlington has released a peer-reviewed scientific study independent of the gas and oil industry. It tested 550 private and public supply water sources. The study showed evidence of high levels of ethanol and methanol as well as heavy metals linked to many health problems including cancer.
While your editorial minimized the report of fouled water quality in the EPA study, the fact is the EPA did admit such contamination. In addition, last year, nearby Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection released a list of 243 private wells with drilling-related water problems across 22 counties. I would not call that “trifling.”
You are correct that the cases of contamination “should serve as a springboard for more study and action aimed at preventing any and all potential health and safety threats.” We also need to listen to the concerns of citizens and provide backup with governmental regulation that does not unduly favor the gas and oil industry.
Sister Mary Cunningham, Girard