Rush to Drill Threatens Water

The rush to extract natural gas deposits trapped underground in layers of shale rock poses a huge threat to air and water quality in areas where drilling happens. Clean Water Action is fighting in several states and at the national level to make sure that gas development does not end up polluting water and air or damaging people’s health.

Methane released as part of the drilling process can also escape into nearby drinking water wells and underground water supplies (aquifers) tapped for drinking water. In some cases, results have included “flammable water” with gas concentrations high enough to cause explosions at the tap.

One of the biggest gas deposits under development now is in rock layers known as the Marcellus Shale, which extends under much of the mid-Atlantic region, including large swaths of Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.

have been slow to put rules in place to govern the drilling, and oil and gas companies have used their political clout over the years to win exemptions from many federal laws. For some communities, this situation has already led to serious air and water pollution, with contaminated drinking water wells, polluted streams and fish kills.

The hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process used in these gas wells involves blasting fluids into networks of vertical and horizontal well holes at high pressure in order to free the gas. Millions of gallons of water are used, in mixtures with a number of potentially toxic chemicals. Most states do not require drillers to disclose what is in those fluids.

Once the rock has been fractured, millions of gallons of contaminated water return to the surface. This flowback water can be six to ten times saltier than the ocean, and can also pick up radioactive compounds from the earth. The resulting soup spells trouble for nearby waters. Storage of contaminated water in on-site holding ponds or disposal at public sewage plants which are not equipped to treat the waste can make things worse. efforts to stop pollution and other problems associated with fracking in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland and other states, and is rapidly emerging as a national leader on this issue. Together with Clean Water Fund, Clean Water Action has:

• Pressed for moratoria on drilling permits until states have strong regulatory systems in place. Maryland's Governor recently issued such an executive order.
• Pressed for disclosure of fracking fluid's potentially harmful ingredients, of the air and water pollution released by drilling, and of the composition and disposal of the polluted flowback water.
• Exposed pollution violations by drillers, forcing state officials to take action, and moved to block unsafe disposal of fracking water in sewage treatment plants.
• Helped citizens organize to protect their own communities from fracking dangers.