Groundwater Pollution

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Both sides of the debate over whether hydraulic fracturing has contaminated groundwater in Wyoming say they need more time to analyze the results of testing done by the U.S. Geological Survey before they can comment.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey plans to release new test results from a Wyoming gas field where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has linked hydraulic fracturing to groundwater contamination.

The Pavillion Working Group met in Casper Tuesday. The group was established at the behest of the Environmental Protection Agency after private water well testing near Pavillion found chemical contaminants.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming officials are asking residents of Pavillion if they want cisterns and trucked-in water to replace wells that federal officials say may have been tainted by fracking. The Associated Press reports a public meeting is planned May 31 to discuss the possibility...

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality says preliminary results from an air monitoring station in an area several miles east of Pavillion did not reveal pollution levels exceeding federal standards. The state agency installed a mobile monitoring station that began collecting data Jan. 27, 2011, on land in the Pavillion area downwind of gas development equipment and infrastructure.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A bill that includes $750,000 in funding to help address water quality issues for residents of Pavillion is now law. Gov. Matt Mead signed the bill on Tuesday after if passed the legislature. The federal government has investigated whether hydraulic fracturing, a technique used in energy production, has contributed to what residents say are water quality problems in the area.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s study of groundwater contamination and links to hydraulic fracturing in Pavillion was the topic of a U-S House subcommittee hearing Wednesday. No one locally affected was invited to the hearing, which was expected to include criticism of the E-P-A’s scientific approach.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking nominees for a peer review panel that will be asked to take a close look at an EPA draft report that theorizes a link between hydraulic fracturing and groundwater pollution in a Wyoming gas field...