A hearing was recently held in regards to EPA's findings regarding the Wyoming groundwater contamination case. The EPA holds firm it's findings in this case linking the contamination of ground to the fracking processes in the area. Further, the agency warns the use of this finding as a broader indictment of hydraulic fracturing noting that fracking in the Wyoming area occurred under conditions "different from those in many areas of the country". Evidence utilized in these findings by the EPA included a sampling from deep water monitor wells which detected levels of benzene, methane and synthetic chemicals, such as glycols and alcohols consistent with oil and gas production and hydraulic fluids. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission blasted these reports by the EPA stating incomplete data played a major role in their decision. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission concluded that limited sampling and inconclusive data leaves the hydraulic fracturing debate in question and the EPA's science in question.
It is my view that there has been no proof that hydraulic fracturing has ever contaminated a water table. The only possible impacts to the water table may have been from blowouts, failed casing due to corrosion over time or surface spills. I don't believe a company would waste millions of dollars on frac jobs only to have it travel through thousands of feet of solid rock to contaminate a water zone.