Contamination With Hydraulic Fracturing. Are you aware of pollution and contamination associated with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking? Natural gas drillers are required by law to report fracking fluid spills and other contamination incidents to their state regulators, yet many fail to do so. If you have information that a natural gas driller covered up contamination caused by their drilling, our fracking whistleblower lawyers can help you get the word out.
Our law firm has a great deal of experience representing whislteblowers in a number of industries. You can be assured that the information you submit to our fracking whistleblower lawyers will be kept EXTREMELY CONFIDENTIAL. If you know of misconduct tied to natural gas drilling, we urge you to contact our fracking whistleblower lawyers today for a free, no-obligation of your case.
Hydraulic Fracturing Contamination
Fracking is used in natural gas wells to push fluid and sand at very high pressure into rock formations to release natural gas. The fluid used in fracking can contain chemicals that are hazardous and carcinogenic. Unfortunately, because the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act – a provision known as the “Halliburton loophole” – gas drillers don’t have to disclose what chemicals they use.
A 2009 ProPublica investigation uncovered more than a thousand reports of water contamination from drilling across the country, some from surface spills of fracking fluid and some from seepage underground. ProPublica also found dozens of homes in several states in which gas from drilling had migrated through underground cracks into basements or wells. In many instances, drillers have been fined for failing to report spills and other accidents. Fracking whistleblowers can make sure that gas drillers pay a price when they damage the environment and put public health at risk.
Over the past decade, the use of hydraulic fracturing by gas drillers has boomed, and fracking operations have been popped up in a number of states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Because of the Halliburton loophole, regulation of these fracking operations is left to the states, which are often not up to the job. The ProPublica investigation found, for example, that while the number of gas wells being drilled in 22 states each year has jumped 45 percent since 2004, most of the states have added only a few regulators.
Fracking Whistleblowers Can Make a Difference
In many instances, this lack of regulation has made it easy for frackers to conceal their misconduct. That’s why the role of whistleblowers has become so important in safeguarding the environment and public health. Fracking whistleblowers can make sure drillers live up to their obligations to operate safely and legally.
Fracking whistleblowers really can change things. Take the case of Weston Wilson, an employee with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Denver, Colorado office. Wilson blew the whistle on the heavy industry influence that had infiltrated the panel that reviewed findings from the EPA’s 2004 report on the safety hydraulic fracturing – the very report that convinced Congress to exempt fracking from the Safe Drinking water act.
According to Wilson, EPA scientists had proven that there was a risk of benzene and other toxic chemicals migrating into ground water from drilling activities. However, the industry-friendly panel suppressed this data from the final report.
It took some time, but Wilson’s whistleblowing was one of the reasons that in 2010, Congress ordered the EPA to conduct a new study of the environmental and health impacts of fracking. That study could ultimately lead to better federal regulation of fracking.
Need Legal Help for Hydraulic Fracturing?
If you have information about wrongdoing that involves hydraulic fracturing, our fracking whistleblower lawyers can help. To shine a light on the wrongdoing you’ve seen, call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529) today to speak with one of our experienced lawyers.
