Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers
It is a long article have a good read.
The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.
“We’re burning the furniture to heat the house,” said John H. Quigley
“Hydrofracking impacts associated with health problems as well as widespread air and water contamination have been reported in at least a dozen states,” said Walter Hang,
Gas has seeped into underground drinking-water supplies in at least five states, including Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia, and residents blamed natural-gas drilling.
“If we’re too hard on them,” the inspector added, “the companies might just stop reporting their mistakes.”
It is a modern day gold rush but without Charlie Chaplin or villains with long curly mustaches.
I'm always surprised when we rush off screaming hallelujah we are saved but haven't spent a few minutes working out what the impact might be, you know what to do about the muck we create.
Dammit there is money in them thar shales!
Hell its easier than thinking....but oh wait ...the EPA can't keep up...lets make sure and slash its budget some more as the enrgy lobby assures us this will not effect their ability to regulate only their ability toharass god fearing polluters.
The EPA cuts will create budgetary savings and perhaps even make it more difficult for EPA to harrass businesses. But if Republicans are looking to curtail the power of the EPA and their ability to regulate greenhouse gasses, they'll have to do more.
They'll have to do more, like what? Cut the whole damn budget, it appears to be out of control already.
We always seek the easy way out and damn the consequences of our actions and don't tell me waste water pollution was unforeseeable we are not that dumb.
We refuse to face the reality, rather than be creative and develop green technology it is far easier to trash the joint.
sigh.