Mark Drajem\u00a0and\u00a0Jim Snyder\u00a0write: \u00a0Hydraulic fracturing has contaminated some drinking water sources but the damage is not widespread, according to a landmark U.S. study of water pollution risks that has supporters of the drilling method declaring victory and foes saying it revealed reason for concern.
\nThe draft analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency, released after three years of study, looked at possible ways fracking could contaminate drinking water, from spills of fracking fluids to wastewater disposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe conclude there are above and below ground mechanisms by which hydraulic fracturing activities have the potential to impact drinking water resources,\u201d the EPA said in the report. But, \u201cwe did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources.\u201d\u00a0 The study was commissioned by Congress and represents the most comprehensive assessment yet of the safety of fracking.<\/p>\n
Thomas Burke, the EPA\u2019s top science adviser,said \u201cthe number of documented impacts on groundwater resources is relatively low.\u201d Still, it\u2019s not accurate to say that there have been no cases of contamination.<\/p>\n
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, said the study was a validation of the safety of fracking. It said it showed existing oversight from state regulators is working..<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process of fracking itself is one risk factor. But in fact it\u2019s not the biggest one,\u201d said Mark Brownstein, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund. \u201cOngoing physical integrity of the wells and handling the millions of gallons of wastewater coming back to the surface after fracking, over the lifetime of each well, are even bigger challenges.\u201d
\nAmy Mall, a senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the study provides \u201csolid science that fracking has contaminated drinking water across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mall said, however, that a lack of cooperation from industry meant EPA lacked key data necessary to fully assess its safety.
\nAnother environmental group, Earthworks, said EPA analysis points to the need for regulation.<\/p>\n
The EPA said as many as 30,000 fracked wells were drilled annually between 2011 to 2014, as oil production reached its highest level in more than three decades.
\n\u201cPeople in favor of drilling will see this as vindication,\u201d said Rob Jackson, a Stanford University professor who has tested drinking water near fracking sites in Texas, Pennsylvania and other states. \u201cPeople opposed to it will see this as a whitewash.\u201d<\/p>\n
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