The article written by Abrahm Lustgarten , Nicholas
Kusnetz and ProPublica is shedding light on the
possibility that fracking or hydraulic
fracturing is
playing a major role in water pollution. Fracking is the process of
extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth.
In Pavilion Wyo, 10 fluid compounds were found in gas wells, these fluid
compounds are called fracking liquids and are part of the fracking process. The
finding of these fluids has sparked up a lot of controversy first with the
drilling industry. For they had previously claimed that fracking does no harm
and is ‘safe’ “that hydrologic pressure would naturally force fluids down, not
up; that deep geologic layers provide a watertight barrier preventing the
movement of chemicals towards the surface.” The fracking fluids contradict their
statement for the fluids appeared in gas wells instead of going down as they
were supposed to.
Environmental advocates haven taken this information as
an opportunity to re-spark the debate about federal laws concerning hydraulic
fracking. Amy Marshall a senior policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense
Council says that stronger rules need to be implied for the recent 121-page
report it is obvious that there are consequences occurring due to fracking. On
the other side of the argument is EnCana a spokesman for the gas wells in Pavilion says that the fluid build up is not
because of fracking is due to a natural cause.
This new information is not only creating debates
between environmentalist and CEOs it is becoming a heated debate in congress. The
congress is not considering new regulation to further regulate fracking. The
EPAs final draft report will be ready in the spring and undergo intense public
review, until then everything will remain unclear on whether or not fracking
will have more rules or if it will continue to pollute our drinking water.
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