EPA Finds Groundwater Contamination from Fracking

Following report after report on the part of natural gas companies and gas industry lobbyists claiming there has never been a proven and recorded case of groundwater contamination related to hydro-fracture natural gas drilling, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "released the latest data from Pavillion-area domestic and monitoring wells at a public meeting on November 9, 2011" describing high levels of cancer-causing compounds (including acetone, toluene, naphthalene and traces of diesel fuel) and at least one chemical commonly used in hydraulic fracturing [2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE).] 


In short, after sampling water from Wyoming 42 homes located in close proximity to drilling sites, the EPA went on to drill 2 monitoring/test wells. The monitoring well sample results include (preliminary report quoted from EPA website):

• Elevated ppH– rang g ging from 11.2-12
• Potassium (8-18x) and chloride (18x) significantly elevated 
• Synthetic organic compounds including glycols, alcohols and 2-butoxyethanol
• Methane at near-saturation levels (up to 19 mg/L)- similar isotopic signature to production gas 
• Other petroleum-related detections– BTEX (including benzene at 50x the MCL), phenols, trimethylbenzenes,, DR

The EPA plans to release an official report in late November, though all of this information is currently available on their website.

Are Ohio Gas Drilling Rules Adequate?

The debate goes on and on about the safety of hydraulic fracturing, also called hydrofracking and fracking, as well as the safety of fracking brine disposal methods like injection of completion fluids into existing well shafts.

Ohio is supposedly known for having some of the strictest regulations overseeing gas and oil drilling, though environmentalists consider that an example ofhow the regulations are failing on the national level rather than a triumph for Ohio.

Also, according to reports, Pensylvania, already experiencing negative environmental effects of the rapidly advancing fracking industry, has tougher regulations than Ohio - proving the "stricter than Ohio's" existing regulatory levels to be inadequate to protect the safety of citizens.