The US Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its plans to further investigate whether or not fracking led to the contamination of a Wyoming aquifer, and the agency no longer plans to write a report on the matter.
The EPA in 2011 released a draft report, which revealed that
hydraulic fracturing fluids used at a shale gas drilling site had
likely contaminated groundwater in Pavillion, Wyoming. Oil and
gas companies have long argued that fracking poses no water
contamination risks, but the EPA’s results demonstrated
otherwise.
Critics of the findings, including Wyoming state officials and
drilling advocates, argued that the EPA conducted a poor and
inaccurate study, which could ultimately harm the industry.
Despite the initial wave of criticism in 2011, EPA officials
planned to resume the study and continue making assessments
regarding the influence of fracking on groundwater. But the EPA
on Thursday abandoned those plans, announcing that state
officials will instead take over the investigation into
Pavillion’s water pollution and draw up a conclusion in 2014.
"We think this is the most pragmatic, quickest way to help the
residents of Pavillion. We're going to work hand in hand with the
state to make sure this investigation moves forward," EPA
spokesman Tom Reynolds announced in Washington, D.C.
Wyoming will receive a $1.5 million grant from Encana Corp.’s US
oil and gas subsidiary, which owns the Pavillion gas field in
question. The state plans to issue a final report about its
findings in late 2014. Industry officials and drilling proponents
have praised the decision to hand over responsibility of the
study to Wyoming state officials.
"EPA has to do a better job, because another fatally flawed
water study could have a big impact on how the nation develops
its massive energy resources," Erik Milito, from the
Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute, said in a
news release.
“The EPA has been on a witch hunt to shut down hydraulic
fracturing,” Sen. David Vitter, the top Republican on the
Senate Environment and Public Works committee, told Reuters.
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said in a news release that letting state
officials run the investigation is “in everyone’s best
interest”, since it would lead to “an unbiased,
scientifically supportable conclusion.”
But Mead, a known advocate of drilling, has made no attempt to
hide his own biases. Last September, Mead asked the Interior
Department to abandon fracking rules, claiming that it was
unnecessary to request companies to disclose the chemicals they
inject down well bores. He has long opposed having any federal
fracking rules, and urges lawmakers to let states make their own
decisions.
And the Native Americans who live around the fracking site may
not even take part in the study, despite the fact that
contaminated groundwater has the greatest impact on their tribe.
The Northern Arapaho Tribe, which lives on a reservation
surrounding Pavillion, has long sought to maintain a role in the
investigation. But a tribal official told AP that the EPA has
stopped consulting with the community.
"They have a legal duty to consult with the tribe and that
didn't happen as part of their dialogue with the governor,"
Ronald Oldman, co-chairman of the tribe's business council, said
in a statement.
It is unclear why the EPA abandoned the study, but with state
officials – many of which are fracking proponents – leading the
investigation, the results could look very different from the
2011 draft report that linked fracking chemicals to groundwater
contamination.