EPA study finds no evidence that fracking has lead to polluted drinking water

2015-06-08T19:31:00-04:00

The EPA's draft assessment was conducted at the request of Congress. "It is the most complete compilation of scientific data to date," says Burke, "including over 950 sources of information, published papers, numerous technical reports, information from stakeholders and peer-reviewed EPA scientific reports." [...] The EPA study does identify some potential vulnerabilities to drinking water.

At this stage, the study is the "most complete compilation of scientific data to date," says Tom Burke, deputy assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Research and Development. But as a "draft assessment", the study still needs to be reviewed by the Science Advisory Board, and be made open for public comment, before its findings are finalized.

Predictably, environmental groups are not pleased with the EPA's findings, as it corroborates what the American Petroleum Institute has insisted from the beginning: that fracking has always followed preexisting safety regulations. According to NPR, Food & Water Watch, which wants to ban fracking, said the report "has the industry's oil fingerprints all over it." While the EPA study finds no evidence of fracking having led to demonstrable cases of polluted drinking water, it does acknowledge that fracking can adversely affect drinking water – read the full report here.

Hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking, has led to economic booms in areas ...

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EPA study finds no evidence that fracking has lead to polluted drinking water