Hydraulic fracturing suspected in two more cases of drinking water contamination in Pennsylvania

Earlier today I spoke on the phone to a family in Bradford County, Pennsylvania (not to be confused with Bradford Township). They told me that their water became black after hydraulic fracturing of wells near their home last year, and that their water has flammable methane in it. Their water cleared for a while, but recently turned black again. The gentleman with whom I spoke told me that his parents live down the road and their water has also turned black several times this year. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection took some water samples, but so far nothing has happened to assist this family.

Stories of groundwater contamination linked to hydraulic fracturing continue to come from around the country. It is time for Congress to close the Halliburton Loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act and establish federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing. Citizens of any state where oil or gas drilling occurs deserve to know that their state is meeting minimum federal safety standards.