A controversial method for extracting oil and gas resources from the environment does not have a broad impact on drinking water, according to a report released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
But the EPA’s nearly 1,000-page report on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, did also conclude that there is a potential for some pollution on a local scale. Congress commissioned the study in 2010. The report is based on a four-year study.
The EPA concluded that there are mechanisms that have the potential to impact drinking water, but said, ultimately, “We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systematic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.”
In individual cases in which drinking water was affected, “The number of identified cases … was small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells,” according to the EPA report.
But the report also noted that water, chemicals and other materials are injected into wells during fracking, and requires “thousands to millions of gallons of water,” according to the report. This amounted to 44 billion gallons of water yearly in 2011 and 2012, the report noted. The report added, “Although this represents less than 1% of total annual water use and consumption at this scale, water withdrawals could potentially impact the quantity and quality of drinking water resources at more local scales.”
Environmental advocates focused on the pollution aspect of the report, characterizing it as a major admission by the agency.
“Today, EPA confirmed what communities living with fracking have known for years — fracking pollutes drinking water,” Lauren Pagel, policy director for Earthworks, said in a statement. “Now, the Obama administration, Congress and state governments must act on that information to protect our drinking water, and stop perpetuating the oil and gas industry’s myth that fracking is safe.”
The oil and gas industry, however, hailed the report as evidence that fracking can be done safely.
“After more than five years and millions of dollars, the evidence gathered by the EPA confirms what the agency has already acknowledged and what the oil and gas industry has known,” Erik Milito, upstream group director for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement. “Hydraulic fracturing is being done safely under the strong environmental stewardship of state regulators and industry best practices.”
Fracking makes it possible to extract oil and gas resources that once were not accessible. The process involves injecting fluids to fracture oil and gas formations, but some residents near production wells have reported changes in drinking water.
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