07/07/2015 (3) - Laserfiche WebLink

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reTHINK ReThink Energy Florida: A statement on the EPA's Draft Assessment of Hydrauli❑Frarking FLJORIDA Last week the Environmental Protection Agency released its Draft Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources. The mainstream media coverage was quick to report that the Draft Assessment described fracking as not problematic regarding drinking water effects. The Wall Street Journal's June 4, 2015 Opinion page touted "The EPA Fracking Miracle," and Newsweek magazine on that same day went so far as to publish this headline: "Fracking Doesn't Pollute Drinking Water, EPA Says." That headline is categorically false. The Draft Assessment actually stated, "Of the potential mechanisms identified in this report, we found specific instances where one or more mechanisms led to impacts on drinking water resources, including contamination of drinking water wells." These media outlets would seem to be fixating on one of the conclusions reached in the Draft Assessment: "We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States."The Draft Assessment does not define"widespread"or"systemic" but EPA's lead scientist on the project Dr.Jeff Frithsen did admit in a webinar discussing the Draft Assessment that"it's a finding that could reflect the lack of data available for this Assessment." Why did the EPA lack data for their assessment? Dr. Frithsen also stated in the webinar that"Confidential business information continues to limit a complete characterization of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. So even our database of 1173 chemicals is at least slightly incomplete in terms of characterizing the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing." How slight is "slightly"? From the EPA analysis of the FracFocus database, which fracking companies use to voluntarily disclose what fracking chemicals are used, "Operators designated 11%of all ingredient records as confidential business information." So well over a hundred chemicals used in fracking are held secret by the fracking companies, and thus their effects on drinking water sources were not studied. Another reason widespread effects on drinking water supplies were not found in the Draft Assessment may be that it does not address potential effects on drinking water resources from the use of disposal wells for fracking wastewater. However,the Draft Assessment does admit that disposal wells are the primary management practice for hydraulic fracturing wastewater in most regions of the United States. Disposing of 98%of the produced water from fracking in injection wells and then excluding them from the study makes assessing the totality of the effect of fracking on drinking water very difficult. It may also be that no widespread effects on drinking water were found because the study itself was not particularly widespread. For example, though the report states that "Hydraulic fracturing took place in at least 25 states between 1990 and 2013,"the frequency of on-site chemical spills could only be estimated for two states: Pennsylvania and Colorado. Between those two states, estimates of fracking fluid and produced water spill frequency at fracking sites ranged from approximately 0.4 to 12.2 spills per 100 wells. That does not include spills that may have occurred off- site during the transportation of these chemicals. Even if this woefully inadequate Assessment was correct about fracking having no widespread, systemic negative impacts on drinking water supplies, the facts remain that fracking has been conclusively linked to water contamination and earthquakes,that the negative social effects of rural areas becoming industrial areas do occur,that an excessive amount of water is used and taken out of the water cycle, and that property values decrease near fracked sites. For these and many other reasons, despite what the Wall Street Journal calls a "Fracking Miracle," ReThink Energy Florida will continue to endorse a ban on fracking in Florida. 158