Fracking

The Story So Far

The country’s push to find clean domestic energy has zeroed in on natural gas, but cases of water contamination have raised serious questions about the primary drilling method being used. Vast deposits of natural gas, large enough to supply the country for decades, have brought a drilling boom stretching across 31 states. The drilling technique being used, called hydraulic fracturing, shoots water, sand and toxic chemicals into the ground to break up rock and release the gas.

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Feature Stories

Report for Obama Questions Effectiveness of Gas Drilling Regulations

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, Aug. 12, 10:16 a.m.

An Energy Department panel said there are serious environmental consequences of drilling for gas in deep shale formations. Without action, the panel said, those problems will worsen.

• 13 comments

N.Y. Enviro Commissioner Expects Little From EPA Fracking Study

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, Aug. 9, 1:49 p.m.

In an interview, the commissioner of New York's Department of Environmental Conservation says he is confident underground contamination from hydraulic fracturing is not a risk, and that the Environmental Protection Agency's study of fracking won't yield new information.

• 36 comments

Does an Old EPA Fracking Study Provide Proof of Contamination?

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, Aug. 4, 12:43 p.m.

A 24-year-old EPA report uncovered this week adds to a list of examples of how water supplies are polluted in natural gas drilling areas and provides the strongest articulation yet by federal officials that fracking has caused the contamination.

• 50 comments

EPA Proposes New Rules on Emissions Released by Fracking

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, July 29, 4:23 p.m.

New federal regulations would require companies to reduce the amount of smog-forming and toxic pollutants emitted in many stages of the production, transmission and storage of natural gas.

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State Fracking Rules Could Allow Drilling Near New York City Water Supply Tunnels

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, July 14, 1:04 p.m.

City officials had advocated for a seven-mile buffer. Instead, the state is proposing to allow drilling within 1,000 feet of tunnels that carry water to New York City.

• 32 comments

Lawsuits Predicted as New York Towns Ponder Whether to Block Fracking

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, July 8, 9 a.m.

Drilling is still months away, but talk has already begun about legal challenges from energy companies and landowners in the areas where hydraulic fracturing would be prohibited.

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New York Proposes Permanent Ban on Fracking Near Watershed and State Land

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, June 30, 4:53 p.m.

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Oil and Gas Drilling Surges Despite Increased Oversight

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, June 30, 12:15 p.m.

The pace of domestic oil and gas drilling is nearing the 20-year high reached before the recession. The growth undermines claims that increased regulation slows drilling.

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EPA Fracking Study to Focus on Five States—But Not Wyoming

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, June 24, 2:07 p.m.

The EPA has picked 7 sites in 5 states that it will focus on for its national study of the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water.

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Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, June 20, 4:36 p.m.

Five states have adopted rules requiring drilling companies to disclose what’s in hydraulic fracturing fluids, but critics say they don’t go far enough to protect public health and the environment.

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Exxon Ad Makes Gas Drilling Seem Simpler—and Safer—Than It Really Is

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, May 25, 12:44 p.m.

Exxon's full-page ad illustrates how well pipes are protected with casings of steel and cement. But the picture's not as pretty as the company paints it.

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Forced Pooling: When Landowners Can’t Say No to Drilling

by Marie C. Baca, Special to ProPublica May 19, 12:01 a.m.

Gas drillers are using a powerful legal tool to force reluctant landowners to cooperate.

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PA Officials Issue Largest Fine Ever to Gas Driller

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, May 17, 4:19 p.m.

Chesapeake Energy is fined more than $1 million after contaminating water supplies in Bradford County.

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Gas Drilling Companies Hold Data Needed by Researchers to Assess Risk to Water Quality

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, May 17, 1:14 p.m.

The drilling industry complained about a lack of data related to methane in water wells that it has been collecting for years.

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Fracking: The Music Video

by Eric Umansky
ProPublica, May 12, 10:29 a.m.

A great video explaining fracking.

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Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, May 9, 3 p.m.

For the first time, a peer-reviewed scientific study has linked natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire.

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PA Oil and Gas Inspectors Free to Issue Violations Without Approval From Top, Enviro Chief Says

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, May 5, 11:09 a.m.

Officials say oil and gas inspectors do not need approval from DEP Secretary Michael Krancer to issue violations to companies drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale, contradicting earlier reports and leaked emails.

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Response to Pa. Gas Well Accident Took 13 Hours Despite State Plan for Quick Action

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, April 26, 1:11 p.m.

A Texas emergency response team was flown in to deal with a recent Pennsylvania gas well accident, even though the state arranged last year for a local team to be available.

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Natural Gas Drilling Is at a Crucial Turning Point

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, April 21, 2:33 p.m.

The natural gas industry must develop regulations that scale up drilling safely and learn from the mistakes made in the United States.

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PA Senate Confirms Controversial Job Czar Nominee

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, April 13, 6:32 p.m.

C. Alan Walker, a former coal baron and prominent Republican donor, gained unanimous support to oversee the PA's Department of Community and Economic Development.

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More Reasons to Question Whether Gas Is Cleaner Than Coal

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, April 12, 1:39 p.m.

Evidence continues to mount saying that natural gas is not be as clean as we like to think.

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Pa.’s New Jobs Czar Fought Enviro Regs for Years

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, April 11, 12:01 a.m.

Pennsylvania's governor has asked C. Alan Walker to promote job growth by helping companies get the permits that they need. But Walker's personal business history raises a crucial question: How might an anti-regulation coal mogul affect the state's environmental regulations for the Marcellus Shale?

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Deteriorating Oil and Gas Wells Threaten Drinking Water, Homes Across the Country

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, April 4, 1 a.m.

Oil, gas and tainted water can seep through abandoned gas and oil wells into drinking water sources and sometimes into septic systems. But most states don't have enough money to plug them.

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Pennsylvania Limits Authority of Oil and Gas Inspectors

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, March 30, 6:46 p.m.

A leaked memo says oil and gas inspectors can no longer issue violations to drilling companies in the Marcellus Shale without first getting the approval of top officials.

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PA Governor Gives Energy Executive Supreme Authority Over Environmental Permitting

by Abrahm Lustgarten, Nicholas Kusnetz and Joaquin Sapien
ProPublica, March 9, 11:50 p.m.

Pennsylvania’s governor has appointed an energy industry executive to oversee the state’s job creation effort and wants to give him unusual authority to streamline state permits, including for gas drilling.

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Former Bush EPA Official Says Fracking Exemption Went Too Far; Congress Should Revisit

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, March 9, 1:21 p.m.

Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the Environmental Protection Agency in the George W. Bush administration, ponders criticism leveled at a 2004 study on hydraulic fracturing and suggests that it's now time for Congress and the EPA to take another look at the practice.

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Natural Gas Drilling Debate Heats Up: Read Our Guide

ProPublica, Feb. 28, 7:48 p.m.

The possible dangers of gas drilling, including the process known as hydraulic fracturing, are drawing more attention from the media as gas drilling expands across the United States. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key issues, drawn from ProPublica’s reporting.

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Hydrofracked? One Man’s Mystery Leads to a Backlash Against Natural Gas Drilling

by Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica, Feb. 25, 7 a.m.

When the well water on Louis Meeks' ranch turned brown and oily, he suspected that the thousands of natural gas wells dotting the once-empty Wyoming landscape were somehow to blame. The hard part was proving it.

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John Hanger, PA’s Former Environmental Chief, Talks About Challenges of Keeping Gas Drilling Safe

by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica, Feb. 10, 10:13 a.m.

The former head of Pennsylvania's environmental agency defends his department, but says more work is needed to protect the state's natural resources from gas drilling.

• 9 comments