Meanwhile, the fracking wars continue in Pennsylvania

Photo by William Avery Hudson. Landscape with gasfield in Dimock Township, Penn.

 

Fracking, of course, is not just a Colorado enterprise. And one of the major sticking points for the Great Fracking War Compromise was that oil and gas companies were concerned about the impact any agreement might have on drilling in other states, including Pennsylvania.

And now, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has finally come clean on fracking. After years of dodging open-record requests, the Associated Press reports that state regulators have released details of private drinking water wells that have been contaminated by fracking. The number: 243.

The department offered no statement with the online news release, but it did post links to seven environmental groups that have called for DEP to comply with a list of 29 improvements in reporting that have been suggested by the state’s auditor general.

The release covered cases between 2008 and 2014. And the problems include, says the AP, “methane gas contamination, spills of wastewater and other pollutants, and wells that went dry or were otherwise undrinkable.”

[Photo by William Avery Hudson of landscape with gasfield in Dimock Township, Penn. via Flickr/Creative Commons.]

The Colorado Independent is a statewide online news source operating in a time when spin is plentiful, but factual, fair and unflinching news in the public interest is all too rare. Our award-winning team of veteran investigative and explanatory reporters and news columnists aims to amplify the voices of Coloradans whose stories are unheard, shine light on the relationships between people, power and policy, and hold public officials to account. We strive to report the news with context, social conscience, and soul, and to give Coloradans the insight they need to promote conversation, understanding and progress in this square, swing state we call home.