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B.C. should undertake assessment of fracking

Re: “No widespread harm to drinking water from fracking: U.S.,” June 5. A draft U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study reported cases where poorly constructed drilling wells or improper wastewater management affected drinking water.

Re: “No widespread harm to drinking water from fracking: U.S.,” June 5.

A draft U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study reported cases where poorly constructed drilling wells or improper wastewater management affected drinking water. The number of cases was small compared to the large number of wells that use fracking.

Both supporters and opponents of fracking seized on the results. Oil and gas companies cheered the report as a vindication of the technique, while environmental advocates pointed to the findings as evidence that the practice is a threat to safe water supplies.

The study has been criticized because of extensive industry influence and weakening of its design and methods. Good scientific method would have required baseline water testing at a large sample of prospective wells to provide a snapshot of water quality before fracking, and then retesting for several years after oil or gas production began.

Nonetheless, the study confirmed cases of water contamination with five after-the-fact case studies, each focused on a community where residents have complained about water problems for years. This limited review of the impacts from spills and releases, water withdrawals, and issues with waste disposal provided proof that fracking negatively affects water resources.

An environmental-impact assessment of fracking should be done in B.C. The assessment of contamination should include surface waters and the influence of fracking contaminants on fish and animals, critically important to First Nations and non-aboriginal users.

The question of liability in cases of contamination is another critical issue.

John K. Jeglum

Victoria