Since the gas boom hit the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, the conversation over gas and oil development has largely centered on hydraulic fracturing – so much so that the term “fracking” is often used as a synonym for the development itself – and the effects it has on human health, the environment and, perhaps most importantly, water resources.
This discussion largely breaks down into two camps: the industry, which claims fracking is of no negative consequence to anyone or anything, and those who believe that any and all fracking is sure to cause severe and irreparable damage to the Earth and those who inhabit it. As is often the case with such polarized positions, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and a draft Environmental Protection Agency report examining fracking’s effects on drinking water suggests that while not widely problematic, the potential for harm exists. That finding underscores how important it is for the gas and oil industry to adhere to practices that protect against water contamination.
The EPA report makes clear the practice of injecting a cocktail of sand, chemicals and water at high pressure deep into gas- and oil-containing formations so as to release the petroleum contained therein can affect drinking water: “We conclude there are above- and below-ground mechanisms by which hydraulic fracturing activities have the potential to impact drinking water resources,” the report says.
That stands to reason, the agency says, because of the many things that could go wrong in the process of fracking, combined with variables around water supply. Among the possible scenarios for contamination listed is “fracturing directly into underground drinking water resources.” That would certainly do it. However, the EPA goes on to qualify its finding that the potential for contamination exists: “We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking-water resources in the United States. ... We found specific instances where one or more mechanisms led to impacts on drinking-water resources, including contamination of drinking-water wells. The number of identified cases, however, was small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.”
That finding is cold comfort for those whose drinking water was contaminated by fracking activity, but the larger message is both positive and instructive. Given there are an estimated 30,000 wells that were drilled and fracked between 2011-2014, and many existing wells subjected to fracking, that there were a number of “specific instances” of contamination is not, in itself, alarming. Industrial activities of many sorts carry that risk, and gas production, in particular, is problematic in that it often occurs in close proximity to residential activity.
Nevertheless, contaminating or unduly diminishing drinking-water supplies because of fracking is not an acceptable cost of doing business, and the EPA’s findings that the potential for such mishaps indicates how critical it is for states and the gas and oil industry to closely monitor and regulate this activity so as to avoid contamination at a larger scale.
The EPA reported that 9.4 million people in the United States lived within 1 mile of hydraulic fracturing activity between 2000-2013. The human-health implications for poor application of fracking technology are dramatic, and the EPA report should reaffirm for all parties to the discussion the need for careful – and carefully regulated gas and oil development.
