Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency has admitted what the oil and natural gas industry has been saying for more than 60 years: “Hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water sources.”
EPA’s five-year-long study, requested by Congress, examined more than 950 pieces of information, including published papers and technical reports. While finding “potential vulnerabilities, some of which are not unique to hydraulic fracturing,” the report basically pronounces fracking safe.
This conclusion should not be a surprise. In 2011, then-EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told a congressional panel there has been no evidence linking fracking operations to groundwater contamination.
Still, there is something for everyone in EPA’s politically sensitive report (this is Obama’s agency, after all), allowing detractors to seize on what could occur, rather than fracking’s strong safety record. In a statement yesterday, for instance, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) reiterated the tired argument that fracking has “the potential to severely impact drinking water and endanger public health and the environment.”
Yes, and cars can crash and swimming pools risk drowning. But we drive and swim using caution to prevent accidents. Even the construction and maintenance of the anti-frackers’ beloved wind turbines, is hardly risk free. Best practices and vigilance, as in all industrial activity, are required.
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