Gabby Brown, gabby.brown@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- A new report released today by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) claims that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is not a significant source of dangerous chemicals in drinking water, despite a significant body of scientific evidence to the contrary.
Last winter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a comprehensive report detailing the risks posed by fracking to drinking water and public health, including contamination of groundwater resources. In contrast, the USGS study failed to include in its analysis the Marcellus Shale, the country’s largest gas reserve, and ignored numerous accounts from across the country of polluted drinking water near fracking sites.
In response, Kelly Martin, Deputy Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, issued the following statement:
“The scientific debate over whether or not fracking is safe is over. For too long, the fossil fuel industry has peddled false claims that fracking is safe, but communities across the country drinking polluted water and experiencing an alarming increase in earthquakes know the truth, which has been confirmed by comprehensive, science-based reports.
“This slapdash report seems to be part of a troubling trend from this administration of attempting to erase science that is inconvenient for their friends in the fossil fuel industry. Whatever the claims made by this flawed and incomplete report, two things are clear: Donald Trump’s dangerous beliefs have no place in government science, and fracking has no place in our communities.”
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