The EPA Plants a Story

[Geee]

National Journal:

Far be it from the Environmental Protection Agency to admit it was wrong — but late last week, it subtly withdrew from a once-flashy investigation regarding whether hydraulic fracturing contaminated groundwater in the tiny town of Pavillion, Wyo. Never has backpedaling been such an effective form of transportation.

In December 2011, the EPA released a draft report of a study it conducted in Wyoming, eliciting a furor of media attention. The New York Times reported that “chemicals used to hydraulically fracture rocks in drilling for natural gas in a remote valley in central Wyoming are the likely cause of contaminated local water supplies, federal regulators said.” The Financial Times ran a story headlined “EPA blames fracking for Wyoming pollution.” National Public Radio announced that “for the first time, federal environmental regulators have made a direct link between the controversial drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing and groundwater contamination.” And the Salt Lake Tribune ran an editorial subtitled “EPA report shows water poisoned.”

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In reality, the study conclusively proved no such thing. The research was fundamentally flawed, with the conclusion being derived less from science than from politics.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

 

 

 

EPA decides peer review of fracking study not such a good idea

Jazz Shaw

6/23/13

 

Erika and I have been covering the Environmental Protection Agencys, shall we say, complicated relationship with the truth under the Obama administration for some time now. One of the many tales coming out of that department was being featured as recently as Thursday, dealing with the widely panned study in Wyoming which finally sought to tie fracking (hydraulic fracturing) to ground water contamination. The study was due for scientific peer review, attempting to determine if the chemicals found in well water were truly the result of fracking in the area, but somehow the process kept getting delayed, over and over for a year and a half.

 

 

 

At long last the wait is over. As Investors Business Daily reports, the EPA has found a solution which will surely satisfy everyone. They just wont do it.

 

(snip)

 

 

Understanding full well how inappropriate it would be to laugh over this serious of a subject, Im sorry to say that this is pretty darned funny. The study detected chemicals found in soda ash in the well they drilled using dense soda ash in the drilling process. There were traces of natural gas in the well which they drilled over a pocket of natural gas. Im sure glad we finally elected an administration who would right the ship after kicking out all of the Republicans who hate science.

 

(snip)

The EPA has extended public comment periods on the draft report three times since it came out twice last year and again this year. Each extension delayed the peer-review plans.