As the nation awaits the results of a safety study into the natural gas drilling process of fracking, a separate government investigation into contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming has revealed alarming levels of underground pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency released water test results on Wednesday, which showed high levels of cancer-causing compounds and at least one chemical commonly used in hydraulic fracturing in two monitoring wells drilled deep into an aquifer.
The findings are consistent with water samples collected from 42 homes in the area since 2008, when ProPublica first reported on foul water and health concerns in Pavillion. Last year, the EPA drilled the monitoring wells to better understand the extent of the contamination. Residents have alleged for nearly a decade that the drilling – and hydraulic fracturing in particular – has caused their water to turn black and smell like gasoline, with some claiming neurological impairment, loss of smell, and nerve pain associated with exposure to pollutants.
EnCana, a Canadian oil and gas company, has denied its activities are responsible for the water contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, however they have supplied drinking water to residents in the area. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released raw sampling data, but has not yet interpreted the findings or identified the source of the pollution. The compounds detected by the EPA are consistent with those produced from drilling processes, including one used in hydraulic fracturing, 2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE). The EPA also found benzene and phenols, both dangerous human carcinogens, as well as acetone, toluene, naphthalene, and traces of diesel fuel. The water samples were saturated with methane gas that matched the deep layers of natural gas being drilled for energy, indicating the contamination was related to drilling.
EnCana has recently agreed to sell its wells in the Pavillion area to Texas-based oil and gas company Legacy Reserves for a reported $45 million, while pledging to continue to cooperate with the EPA’s investigation. The EPA’s research in Wyoming is separate from the agency’s ongoing national study of hydraulic fracturing’s effect on water supplies, and is being funded through the Superfund cleanup program. The EPA will release a lengthy draft of the Pavillion findings, including a detailed interpretation of them, later this month.
