![]() In 2010, Congress requested the EPA launch a study on the effects of fracking on drinking water as public concern began to grow around this potential outcome of the fracking process. Proponents of fracking say it boasts a number of economic benefits and poses few health and safety risks, while opponents argue that fracking has negative environmental impacts, both known and unknown. However, hydraulic fracturing is exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act, both in the initial 1974 act and the 2005 revision, leaving states to regulate fracking as it pertains to drinking water. Fracking is regulated under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. While it is typically regulated at the state level, federal laws for the protection of the environment and public health apply. Hydraulic fracturing is a highly regulated process. Environmental Concerns Related to Fracking The elements of the hydraulic fracturing process.Įach step of the water cycle was examined by the EPA to determine the impact on drinking water resources as public concern around fracking began to grow. Wastewater Disposal and Reuse: Management of the wastewater, either through disposal or reuse.Produced Water Handling: Collecting the wastewater that comes back through the well.Well Injection: Inserting the hydraulic fracturing fluids into the well in the production zone.Chemical Mixing: Adding chemical additives (many of which are proprietary) to the water, effectively creating a hydraulic fracturing fluid.Water Acquisition: Obtaining the water to use in for hydraulic fracturing.The hydraulic process goes through five stages from start to finish: 4 ![]() ![]() The United States saw a 1,204 percent increase in wells between 2000 (~23,000 wells) and 2015 (~300,000 wells). It has only grown as a means of oil production since. 2įracturing continued to evolve over the ensuing decades, with the first commercial use of hydraulic fracturing occurring in 1949. Roberts, a Civil War Union veteran, was the first to get a patent on his “exploding torpedo” as a method for improving oil production based on observations he made on the results of Confederate artillery rounds shooting into a narrow canal during a battle. 1 Fracturing as a means of obtaining gas and oil can be traced back to 1865. Hydraulic fracturing uses pressure to pump sand, water and other fluids into underground rock formations to boost the flow of oil and gas into a wellbore, which is a hole drilled to allow for the exploration of natural resources. Let’s learn more about fracking and explore the determinations made in the EPA’s report on fracking and water quality. Today, fracking continues to be a hot button topic in public discourse. The report that resulted, Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States, was revised twice before the final version was released in 2016, and the determinations tend to be more qualitative than quantitative. In 2010, upon a request from Congress, the EPA set out to determine the relationship between hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, and drinking water.
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