ND1212113

Title: Fracking Comes Under Fire by U.S. Government

Description: The EPA is raising red flags over the fracking process, citing pollution and groundwater contamination as potential hazards to the natural gas exploration process.

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NEW YORK ? Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that chemicals found in a Wyoming town's drinking water are likely associated with fracking, a technique used to dislodge natural gas or oil from dense rock formations under ground.

The Wall Street Journal writes that EPA?s draft findings could expose Encana Corp., the second-largest natural-gas producer in North American after ExxonMobil and the company the drilled the wells in Wyoming, to fines and litigation.

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Betsaida Alcantara, an EPA spokesperson, told the Journal that the agency is working with Encana to fix the problems. "Our highest priority is to ensure a long-term source of clean drinking water," she said.

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Doug Hock, spokesperson for Encana, said he wasn?t aware of pending enforcement action by the EPA, but noted that the agency has the option. He also called the EPA's findings "a probability rather than a definitive conclusion. For an agency that prides itself on science, that's surprising." Hock also told the Journal that Encana has tested the wells at issue and "the results show there has been no issue with wells releasing natural gas or other contaminants into the environment."

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Environmental groups tout the preliminary findings as proof that fracking poses environmental risks and therefore should be subject to strict rules or banned altogether.

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Supporters of natural-gas production say the EPA?s report is narrowly focused and shouldn't be used to draw broad conclusions about the impact of fracking, notes the Journal.

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EPA is also responding to potential fracking contamination in states such as Texas and Pennsylvania. EPA ordered Range Resources in Texas to provide fresh drinking water to residents who said their water has been contaminated. ?The case is the subject of a lawsuit,? writes the Journal. Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, EPA ordered the state to tighten its standards for the removal of drilling wastewater.

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A Reuters column last week noted that all sides of the fracking issue ?have an urgent interest in better regulation,? and that although fracking is mostly about natural gas exploration, the process has largely been viewed by Congress and state governments as an environmental issue. ?But as it moves into the oil patch, fracking is set to become an issue of national energy security.?

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Content Subject: Petroleum Retailing

Formatted Article Date: December 12, 2011

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