What's the Problem?

Water Contamination and the "Halliburton Loophole"

The natural gas industry has consistently stated that fracking is safe and that the procedure has been more-than-adequately researched. Yet, as fracking becomes more widespread in a virtual explosion of natural gas drilling, there have been over a thousand reports of water contamination in areas where drilling is taking place.

In response to numerous complaints of contamination and illness, the EPA has discovered a range of contaminants in drinking water in the vicinity of fracking sites, including arsenic, copper, vanadium and methane gas, just to name a few.

Yet, the EPA is largely powerless to do anything about pollution caused by fracking. A provision of the 2005 energy bill, inserted at the behest of then Vice President Dick Cheney, stripped the EPA of authority to regulate the process.

As a result of what has come to be known as the "Halliburton Loophole," companies engaged in fracking (invented by Cheney's former company, Halliburton, in the 1940s) currently have free rein to operate outside of government regulation. To make matters worse, fracking technology is deemed proprietary, so the full scope of its environmental impact, including the chemicals used, can only be guessed at.

The Debate Heats Up

In response to numerous reports of contamination, evidence the industry misled Congress and admitted violations of law by fracking companies, Congress has undertaken a federal study to reassess the environmental impact of fracking.

Now, in a rush to lock in profits before Congress can act, the industry is aggressively pushing states to issue hydro-fracking permits before the law can be changed.

Water Supplies at Risk

There is gas extraction currently going on in 32 of the 50 states, and fracking has been tied to ground water pollution in many of them. In one well-documented Ohio case, methane contamination was directly responsible for the explosion of a private home, where doors were blown 20 feet off their hinges and the house lifted clear off its foundation.

Yet, the industry continues to press forward, with a 41% increase in wells drilled since 2003, while the amount of regulators fails to keep pace. In New York, for example, there were only 19 enforcement staff for 13,684 operating wells in 2008. (See article here.)

(Illustrations from "Hancock and the Marcellus Shale: Gas Extraction Along the Upper Delaware" by The Earth Institute Columbia University Urban Design Lab. View the full report here.)