Water Contamination from Shale Gas Drilling

Hydraulic fracturing, the growing practice of drilling for the natural gas embedded in shale rock formations deep below the Earth’s surface, may be contaminating water in many places. Critics of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, suspect that the chemicals used in shale gas drilling can leak into groundwater supplies. Landowners in shale gas drilling areas have reported foul smells in tap water, and toxic chemicals, such as benzene, have been detected in water from wells near drilling sites. In some cases, tap water can even be set aflame because it is contaminated with volatile chemicals because of shale gas drilling.

Many of the chemicals used in fracking, such as benzene, are hazardous. Long-term exposure to such chemicals can have serious health consequences. However, the industry has been reluctant to disclose the chemicals used in shale gas drilling, for fear of revealing proprietary information to their competitors. But people living near shale gas fracking operations have a right to this information, especially if any of these chemicals could poison surrounding water supplies.

Our firm is aggressively investigating the problem of water contamination from fracking in shale gas drilling. If you live in a community where such shale gas drilling is occurring and suspect that water supplies have been tainted, we want to hear from you. Please contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting water, sand, and a cocktail of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations thousands of feet below the surface. This opens existing fractures in the rock and allows natural gas to rise through the wells. The practice makes drilling possible in areas that 10 to 20 years ago would not have been profitable. While natural gas drillers have used fracking for decades, its use has expanded in the past few years as energy companies began exploring shale formations. Boosters of fracking claim shale gas will play a key role in pushing the U.S. towards energy independence.

Fracking is becoming a common method of natural gas extraction in shale formations throughout the U.S. including:

• The Marcellus shale, which extends from New York State, though Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and into parts of Ohio, Maryland and Virginia;
• the Haynesville-Bossier shale in Louisiana and Texas;
• the Fayetteville shale in northern Arkansas and adjoining states;
• the Barnett shale in Texas;
• the Eagle Ford shale, in south Texas;
• the Woodford shale, in Oklahoma and Texas.

Shale Gas Drilling Dangers

The major concern with shale gas drilling is the chemicals used in the process. Because the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, shale gas drillers don’t have to disclose what chemicals they use. A study conducted by Theo Colburn, PhD, the director of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange in Paonia, Colorado, has so far identified 65 chemicals that are probable components of the fracking fluids used by shale gas drillers. These chemicals included benzene, glycol-ethers, toluene, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol, and nonylphenols. All of these chemicals have been linked to health disorders when human exposure is too high.

Concerns are growing that many of the chemicals used in shale gas drilling are seeping into groundwater. While some of the injection fluid used in the process comes back to the surface, 30 to 40 percent is never recovered, according to the industry’s own estimates. People living in the vicinity of shale gas drilling have reported foul smells in their tap water. In some instances gas well pipes have broken, resulting in leakage of contaminants into the surrounding ground.

There have also been cases of improper disposal of potentially toxic wastewater from fracking operations. In 2011, for example, The New York Times reported that some Pennsylvania Marcellus shale natural gas drillers were shipping potentially toxic and radioactive hydraulic fracking wastewater to sewage treatment plants not equipped to treat it. This fracking wastewater, which has only been partially treated, is later released into rivers and streams used as sources of drinking water by millions of Pennsylvanians.

That same year, a series of earthquakes in Arkansas was blamed on underground injection wells used by natural gas drillers to dispose of fracking wastewater. In March 2011, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission ordered Chesapeake Energy and Clarita Operating to stop using two injection wells near the communities of Greenbrier and Guy.

The rapidly expanding development of shale gas reservoirs via fracking has left regulatory agencies and legislatures scrambling to keep up with the new environmental issues raised by the operations. In 2004, a much-maligned study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that fracking posed no risks to water supplies, and was used to convince Congress to exempt the industry from the Safe Drinking Water Act. That study was criticized as flawed due to heavy industry influence on its review panel. An EPA whistleblower later claimed that the study’s findings were “unsupportable,” and alleged that evidence showing that benzene and other toxic chemicals in fracking fluid could migrate into ground water had been suppressed in the final report.

In 2010, as people throughout the country learned more about the potential dangers of fracking, the U.S. Congress directed the EPA to conduct a new, comprehensive study of fracking’s impact on water quality and the environment. Opponents of fracking hope the EPA study, which is expected to be concluded in 2012, will lead to federal oversight of the industry.

Legal Help for Victims of Shale Gas Drilling Water Contamination

Water contamination from shale gas drilling could be threatening the health of thousands of people. Our firm is committed to making sure that shale gas drillers are held accountable for the damage caused by this process. We are aggressively investigating cases where shale gas drilling is the suspected cause of water contamination.

If you believe chemicals from shale gas drilling have contaminated water and wells in your area, you have valuable legal rights. Please fill out our online form, or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) today to schedule a free consultation.