For the first time, federal environmental regulators have made a direct link between the controversial drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing and groundwater contamination.
The EPA released on Thursday its draft investigation results on water pollution in the Wyoming town of Pavilion.
This federal finding linking "fracking" and groundwater pollution could have widespread repercussions. Several states, including New York and Pennsylvania, are in the midst of creating new gas-drilling regulations. Up until this report, industry representatives, along with the head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, have said no persuasive evidence exists linking fracking directly to problems with water quality. DEP Secretary Michael Krancer recently testified in Congress that the idea that fracking pollutes groundwater is "bogus."
