Fracking: The Music Video
Have you been curious what all the hubbub on "fracking" is about?
Buried Secrets: Is Natural Gas Drilling Endangering U.S. Water Supplies?
A series of contamination incidents have raised questions about an EPA study finding hydraulic fracturing safe and ignited a debate over whether the chemicals used in fracking may threaten the nation's increasingly precious drinking water supply.
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Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated
Natural gas drilling is exempt from restrictions of the Safe Drinking Water Act, but congressional Democrats are working on legislation to change that. More »
Natural Gas Drilling: What We Don’t Know
More than a year of investigation by ProPublica, however, shows that the issues are far less settled than the industry contends, and that hidden environmental costs could cut deeply into the anticipated benefits. More »
State Oil and Gas Regulators Are Spread Too Thin to Do Their Jobs
As the gas drilling industry has boomed nationwide, the number of inspectors looking for violations has not kept pace, with some wells going uninspected for years. More »
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updates since last visitAnother Layer to Rendell’s Fracking Connections
Ed Rendell, the former Pennsylvania governor who oversaw a boom in the state's natural gas business, is special counsel to a Philadelphia firm deeply involved in the controversial fracking trade.
More Than a Matter of Opinion: Ed Rendell’s Plea for Fracking Fails to Disclose Industry Ties
Rendell, who supported fracking when he was governor of Pennsylvania, urged Andrew Cuomo of New York to get behind the industry in a strongly worded newspaper piece. He left a few details out.
Land Grab Cheats North Dakota Tribes Out of $1 Billion, Suits Allege
Native Americans on an oil-rich reservation have been cheated out of more than $1 billion by schemes to buy drilling rights for lowball prices — and the federal government failed in its legal obligation to ensure a fair deal, lawsuits claim.
Update: State Oil and Gas Regulators Still Spread Thin
ProPublica updates its database of regulatory oversight in oil and gas producing states, adding data on agency budgets and wells used to inject waste.
New Study: Fluids From Marcellus Shale Likely Seeping Into PA Drinking Water
Researchers show natural fluids are migrating from thousands of feet underground and reaching drinking water supplies, raising concerns that man-made chemicals and waste could do the same.
The New ‘Dallas’: Sex, Scandal and U.S. Energy Policy!
There’s plenty of cheesy drama in the revamped soap. There’s also fracking and frank discussion about energy.
North Dakota’s Oil Boom Brings Damage Along With Prosperity
Booming oil production has brought a flood of toxic waste to North Dakota. Energy companies reported more than 1,000 releases of oil and wastewater last year alone.
New Study Predicts Frack Fluids Can Migrate to Aquifers Within Years
A new study has raised fresh concerns about the safety of gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, concluding that fracking chemicals injected into the ground could migrate toward drinking water supplies far more quickly than experts have previously predicted.
ALEC and ExxonMobil Push Loopholes in Fracking Chemical Disclosure Rules
The conservative nonprofit group ALEC has pushed industry-backed model legislation that lets oil and gas companies muddy the waters on disclosure of fracking chemicals.
Four Big Takeaways From This Week’s Fracking Talk
In case you couldn’t make it, or don’t have time to watch the hour-plus recording, we pulled out the highlights.
The Best Watchdog Journalism On Fracking
A special edition of Top #Muckreads in advance of a ProPublica Tenement Talk on “The Perils and Promise of Fracking.”
So, Is Dimock’s Water Really Safe to Drink?
Preliminary test data appears to complicate the Environmental Protection Agency’s assurances that the water is safe to drink in a Pennsylvania town (EPA said nothing about cause).
What the Frack is in That Water?
Environmentalists have repeatedly pressed regulators to compel oil and gas companies to report what chemicals they use in the drilling and fracking process. No one knows the exact makeup of the frack mixture or drilling muds, but this list breaks down the main ingredients revealed so far.
New York Court Affirms Towns’ Powers to Ban Fracking
New York communities gain new authority to determine who can frack in their town.
Federal Rules to Disclose Fracking Chemicals Could Come with Exceptions
New proposed federal regulations would require drillers to disclose the names and concentrations of the chemicals they use, but would allow exemptions for substances deemed trade secrets.
From Gung-Ho to Uh-Oh: Charting the Government’s Moves on Fracking
The government's involvement with fracking actually goes back decades, and includes a nuclear blast. But calls for regulation are increasing.
Years After Evidence of Fracking Contamination, EPA to Supply Drinking Water to Homes in Pa. Town
The federal agency announced it would bring tanks of drinking water to four homes in Dimock, Pa.
EPA Sees Risks to Water, Workers In New York Fracking Rules
In 47 pages of comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency weighs in on New York’s potentially precedent-setting regulations for natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Fracking Cracks the Public Consciousness in 2011
The year brings a bumper crop of studies, intensifying health concerns, and a landmark development when environmental regulators conclude hydraulic fracturing likely caused groundwater contamination for the first time.
Oh, Canada’s Become a Home for Record Fracking
While furious debate over fracking rages in the U.S., the controversial practice has been embraced across the border. British Columbia and Alberta have offered incentives and loosened regulations to attract drilling.
Feds Link Water Contamination to Fracking for the First Time
The EPA’s investigation into water pollution near Pavillion, Wyo., produces landmark findings that could erode arguments used to defend safety of the gas drilling process.
Energy Dept. Panel Warns of Environmental Toll of Current Gas Drilling Practices
A report from a federal panel on shale gas said that without urgent action to improve drilling practices, regulators and the energy industry risk a public backlash that could slow development.
EPA Finds Compound Used in Fracking in Wyoming Aquifer
After years of complaints from residents about foul water and health concerns, government investigators have found chemical compounds consistent with those used in natural gas fracking.
EPA Plans to Issue Rules Covering Fracking Wastewater
The federal government had left it to states to decide how to regulate wastewater that was discharged from wells to streams, but now says it will develop national standards.
Doctors Ask New York to Study Health Impacts Before Allowing Fracking
Medical professionals and environmentalists sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying the state should study the health effects of gas drilling before allowing more of it .
Pennsylvania Governor Proposes Fee on Gas Drillers
Pennsylvania is the only major oil-and-gas producing state without a drilling tax. The state’s governor has promised not to raise taxes so he’s proposing a fee instead, angering environmentalists.
Science Lags as Health Problems Emerge Near Gas Fields
People who live close to natural gas drilling in four states complain of similar health symptoms, ranging from respiratory infections to lesions and neurological problems, but there is little science or study to get at the cause of their ailments.
Who Are America’s Top 10 Gas Drillers?
Though the industry sometimes touts natural gas drilling as dominated by small businesses, the 10 largest drillers account for one-third of all domestic production.
Report for Obama Questions Effectiveness of Gas Drilling Regulations
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.
N.Y. Enviro Commissioner Expects Little From EPA Fracking Study
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.
Does an Old EPA Fracking Study Provide Proof of Contamination?
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.
EPA Proposes New Rules on Emissions Released by Fracking
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.
State Fracking Rules Could Allow Drilling Near New York City Water Supply Tunnels
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.
Lawsuits Predicted as New York Towns Ponder Whether to Block Fracking
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.
Oil and Gas Drilling Surges Despite Increased Oversight
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.
EPA Fracking Study to Focus on Five States—But Not Wyoming
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.
Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals
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.
Exxon Ad Makes Gas Drilling Seem Simpler—and Safer—Than It Really Is
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.
Forced Pooling: When Landowners Can’t Say No to Drilling
Gas drillers are using a powerful legal tool to force reluctant landowners to cooperate.
PA Officials Issue Largest Fine Ever to Gas Driller
Chesapeake Energy is fined more than $1 million after contaminating water supplies in Bradford County.
Gas Drilling Companies Hold Data Needed by Researchers to Assess Risk to Water Quality
The drilling industry complained about a lack of data related to methane in water wells that it has been collecting for years.
Fracking: The Music Video
A great video explaining fracking.
Scientific Study Links Flammable Drinking Water to Fracking
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.
PA Oil and Gas Inspectors Free to Issue Violations Without Approval From Top, Enviro Chief Says
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.
Response to Pa. Gas Well Accident Took 13 Hours Despite State Plan for Quick Action
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.
Natural Gas Drilling Is at a Crucial Turning Point
The natural gas industry must develop regulations that scale up drilling safely and learn from the mistakes made in the United States.
PA Senate Confirms Controversial Job Czar Nominee
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.
More Reasons to Question Whether Gas Is Cleaner Than Coal
Evidence continues to mount saying that natural gas is not be as clean as we like to think.
Pa.’s New Jobs Czar Fought Enviro Regs for Years
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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