Residents near Pavillion, Wyoming, have been saying for years that natural gas drilling in the area has ruined ground water supplies. The EPA recently found carcinogens in well water in the area. Now, a Texas company has cancelled a deal to buy a gas field.
Residents near Pavillion, Wyoming, have complained for years that hydraulic fracturing, the technique used to extract gas from shale formations, has tainted groundwater supplies. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has now found fracking compounds in the region's aquifer.
Many of the problems first found with shale gas production came to light in Wyoming, and some of the first research on hydrofracking in shale gas formations was done there. But Wyoming is not included in EPA's national study of the issue.
A study by Duke University scientists finds a link between hydraulic fracturing in gas drilling and water contaminated with natural gas so thoroughly that it can be set afire.
BioFuels and Energy | Environment | People to Know
A gas driller has been "fracking" wells around Pavillion, Wyoming, a technique used in gas shale fields across the country. Now the federal EPA has found that the ground water near the town is undrinkable.
There was a 42% increase in the number of oil and gas wells from 2004 to 2008 in 22 of the largest energy producing states. The number of environmental regulators rose only 9%, however. So who's there to see that the drilling is done properly?