EPA fracking news

[bikerfish]

didn't read entire article yet, thought some here might be interested.

http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2011/12/08/epa-blames-fracking-for-wyoming-groundwater-contamination/

 

[franklin]

Not much real information but has some untruths.

There has been pollution related to the fracking process under certain conditions.

Fracking is know to have issues at shallow depths which is why some states have minimum depths on horizontal drilling. (I understand through some of my sources that there have been some minor pollution issues with shallow operations and that is why there are some minimum depth regulations.) Pa does not have this issue as MS drilling here is significantly deeper than the shallow efforts that had issues.

As we have seen here in Pa well casing failures can be a problem. If constructed of proper materials and inspected properly this is a significantly small percentage of casings that fail.

Two important facts that are needed to help understand the problem at that site. Did the well casing fail? At what depth was the horizontal bore?

 

[Maurice]

Share with us the untruths in the article please.

 

[tomgamber]

Another take on teh same story...I like this paragraph and how it sums up...

"The immediate danger from fracking is much, much greater in the Wyoming case than it is in the Pennsylvania case," said Demian Saffer, an associate professor in geosciences at Penn State University. "If there is a lesson, it's the surface pits. ... Unless they're designed and cared for carefully, we know they're essentially a spill site on the surface."

Read more: EPA investigators connect fracking to groundwater pollution - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/nation/s_771187.html#ixzz1g5iiAeXm