CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - No evidence links hydraulic fracturing to contaminated groundwater in central Wyoming, according to a Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality report.
The contamination near Pavillion likely occurred naturally due to permeable geology in the gas-drilling area, the report released Monday found.
However, absence of data from before drilling began in the mid-1900s limits scientists trying to determine the exact source of the contamination, the report stated.
“The findings were that the general geochemistry of the groundwater appears to be the source of issues to drinking water that exist out there,” said Lily Barkau, groundwater section program manager at Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigation begun in 2008 led to draft findings in 2011 that theorized a link between the contamination and nearby hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
The process uses pressurized water, mixed with sand and chemicals, to split open underground deposits and boost oil and gas production.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry cautioned residents not to drink the water. The EPA, however, didn’t finalize its report and handed the investigation over to state officials.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality announced in 2013 it would conduct a thorough study of the 12-square-mile Pavillion gas field with help from $1.5 million from Encana Oil and Gas USA, Inc., the Canadian-based company operating the site, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.
Several environmental groups and landowners in Wyoming expressed skepticism about the additional research.
The Wyoming Legislature allocated another $300,000 for the most recent phase of water quality testing, according to Barkau.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has vehemently defended what it has called a rigorous scientific process.
“When you talk about groundwater, it’s not simple,” department spokesman Keith Guille said. “There’s a lot of technical work that needs to go into it.”
“I understand that it gets frustrating when answers are not always found right away, but it does take time,” Guille added. “Science is not overnight.”
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