CWN Submits Comments on EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that it is launching a study to investigate the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources.
Hydraulic fracturing is a method used to extract natural gas (or oil) by drilling vertical and horizontal cracks and injecting fracturing fluids (a mixture of water and various chemicals) under high pressure underground. Each well pad requires millions of gallons of water and the fluids recovered from a well pad contain not only the fracturing chemicals but also heavy metals, hydrocarbons and radioactive materials naturally present underground. Numerous cases of chemical spills and contamination of ground and surface waters have been reported in communities where hydraulic fracturing is occurring. While drilling technology and the use of sophisticated hydraulic fracturing processes to extract natural gas from sources such as coalbed methane and shale gas formations have advanced greatly over the past decade, the knowledge of how these processes might affect water resources have not kept pace.
Because of concern about this lack of knowledge, in its 2010 Appropriations Conference Committee Directive to EPA, the U.S. House of Representative requested that EPA conduct a study of hydraulic fracturing and its relationship to drinking water. In response to this request, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) drafted the document, Scoping Materials for the Initial Design of EPA Research Study on Potential Relationships Between Hydraulic Fracturing and Drinking Water Resources.
On April 7-8th, 2010 the EPA Science and Advisory Board held a public meeting to discuss EPA's draft plan. Clean Water Network recently submitted comments on EPA's draft plan and CWN staff gave a short oral presentation at the April 7th meeting.
