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Encana Refutes EPA Study That Links Fracking to Water Pollution

The natural gas company Encana corporation says the Environmental Protection Agency made several mistakes in its recently released report on water contamination in Pavilion, Wyo. The EPA’s report cited hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as the likely cause of polluted drinking water in the Wyoming town. Encana official David Stewart, said in a conference call today that many of the chemicals cited by the EPA as present in the drinking water, occur naturally as a result of the area’s geology. Stewart said the EPA’s findings of high levels of methane cannot be linked to gas drilling because methane has always existed in the area’s drinking water.
Stewart also went so far as to say that the chemicals used in the EPA’s test wells may have polluted the water.
The EPA reported that their investigation was hampered by lack of access to detailed chemical components of the fracking fluid used by Encana. Gas drillers are not required to reveal that information. But Stewart said the company did have plans to release more details of the chemicals used to frack the wells in Pavilion.
The Calgary, Alberta based company is one of the largest gas producers in North America, second only to Exxon Mobil Corporation. Encana called for an independent third party review of the study. The company plans to submit their response to the study before the public comment period ends on January 27, 2012.

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