Greening Austin Daily

EPA Hosts Meeting on Natural Gas Drilling in Fort Worth

9th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

The Texas Tribune had this story about last night’s EPA open house meeting in Forth Worth regarding natural gas drilling:

The meeting, which drew more than 600 people, was intended to gather public input ahead of an EPA study (requested by Congress) on how groundwater is affected by hydraulic fracturing, a process that involves shooting a mix of chemicals and water deep underground to break up rock and extract gas (which is plentiful in the Fort Worth area). Gas companies say the process occurs far below the water table and is safe, but a recent film called Gasland showed scenes from around the country of people being able to light their tap water on fire. One family from Bowie has done this too, and there are also reports that a Crowley woman (who has gas wells near her house) found that her hair turned orange after she washed it.

The EPA will also host meetings in Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York, and expects to have initial study results on the effects of natural gas drilling on groundwater by the end of 2012.