Fracking Contamination

            Fracking is used to obtain fossil fuels such as oil and petroleum by fracturing rock layers to release the fuel. It is used when the abundant supply that was there before is all used up. At first people did not think that fracking would pollute natural ground water because it is only used very deep in the rock foundations, but after a few tests done by the EPA, it can no longer be ruled out. This has become an issue because many people in places like Pavillion, Wyoming, use well water. This well water has become contaminated by energy companies, fracking close by.

            The new EPA report contradicts the previous theory that fracking forces fluids down and not up, and is stirring a large national debate. The outcome would determine new regulations in how the nation can obtain fossil fuels by fracking in regions such as the Eastern Appalachians and in the Marcellus Shale. Unfortunately, the EPA had to determine what kind of chemicals that were used in fracking because companies like EnCana refused to release that information. Although they gave some compounds, they did not list every single one, which is worrying.

In just the Pavillion area, forty-two wells have been contaminated. Residents began complaining in the mid-1990s about fouled water and that the water would turn brown after a while. It was not until 2008 that the EPA began to test the water in the area, and only because they were partaking in a national study to see if fracking presents a risk to water resources. Finally in 2010, after another sampling, the EPA concluded that the water was contaminated and probably due to the fracking in the nearby region. It is not even official, and is only a theory, although, there is little chance that the theory could be wrong