The EPA has released a draft report on the effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on drinking water, and both advocates and critics of the oil-and-gas-drilling technique claimed vindication. The report notes that fracking has the potential to taint groundwater, highlighting a few instances where the chemicals used in fracking were found in water supplies, including drinking wells, but says those instances of contamination were rare given the tens of thousands of fracking operations — each year since 2011, 25,000 to 30,000 new wells have been drilled and fracked, the report found.
Congress requested the report on fracking and drinking water in 2010, and it won't be finalized until after a period of public comment and peer review by a panel of scientists. The draft report is based on original EPA research and a review of 3,500 published reports. You can read the draft report at the EPA's website.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Brazil's war on illicit hot air balloonsUnder the Radar Secret 'baloeiros' fly flamboyantly colourful creations over Rio's favelas, despite nationwide ban
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of ChristmasCartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
