Aquifers

Preliminary findings from a study being conducted by The University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) Energy Institute suggest no direct link between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and groundwater contamination, researchers said Wednesday.

Members of a key advisory panel in New York that would someday govern hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state say they won’t meet their Nov. 1 deadline because they need more time to gather critical information and budget requests from state agencies.

The economic benefits of developing shale natural gas resources in the state of New York are “enormous” and vastly outweigh the “small” environmental costs, according to a new report by the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Energy Policy and The Environment.

There is evidence that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can affect aquifers and water supplies, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, but she is “not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.”

There is evidence that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can affect aquifers and water supplies, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, but she is “not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.”

Range Resources Corp. Tuesday was cleared of fouling North Texas water wells with natural gas by a unanimous vote of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). It was vindication for the Fort Worth, TX-based producer and an informal indictment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — not that anyone from the federal agency was at the meeting in Austin, TX, to hear it.