Pennsylvania is one of the few states that has specified a right to clean water in its constitution.
However, a recent study has linked contaminated drinking water to fracking activity in communities in southwestern Pennsylvania, Public Source reported.
What's happening?
New research published last month in Scientific Reports suggests that Pittsburgh-based gas giant EQT likely contaminated water in southwestern Pennsylvania through fracking activity.
The study sampled water from New Freeport and the surrounding community, finding oil and gas materials in more than half the samples.
According to Public Source, about 20% of the samples had what Duquesne University professor John Stolz would call "explosive levels" of methane gas, well above Pennsylvania's action limit.
The research's findings explain that frac-outs, when the fluid is injected into the ground along a certain path, instead permeate through other fractures in the rock or soil. According to the research article, "The extent of the contamination was wider than initially reported."
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EQT said that its activities did not cause the water contamination. However, it has stepped in to provide water for some residents, Public Source reported.
Stolz said that the current legal zone of presumption, or the area around a well in which fracking operators need to provide communities with water in case of a fracking accident, is too small to adequately protect communities.
According to the research findings, "at least a 5,000-foot buffer would be more appropriate."
Why is clean water important?
Access to clean water is a right in Pennsylvania.
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Never 👎 According to the research conducted by Stolz and his co-researchers, fracking poses a significant risk to groundwater systems. The Environmental Protection Agency also notes that certain fracking activities can impact local groundwater.
Having access to clean drinking water is crucial to public health. Water that has been contaminated with methane can become flammable under certain conditions. Water contaminated from a frac-out can also contain heavy metals that can cause serious health complications, including reproductive issues and increased risk of cancer.
What's being done about water in Southwestern Pennsylvania?
The residents of New Freeport filed a class action lawsuit against EQT in June 2024.
The request was denied two months later, and the decision is currently being appealed.
"These people have a problem that is not their fault," former Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David Hess said, per Public Source.
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