Canonsburg, PA – This evening, a U.S. Department of Energy panel focused on hydraulic fracturing – a tightly regulated 60-year-old energy stimulation technology – will hold a public comment forum on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College. Here are five quotes about fracturing that everyone attending should know:

  1. Lisa Jackson, President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: “I’m not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.” (U.S. House testimony, 5/24/11)
  2. John Hanger, Founder & CEO of PennFuture and Fmr. PADEP Secretary: “It’s our experience in Pennsylvania that we have not had one case in which the fluids used to break off the gas from 5,000 to 8,000 feet underground have returned to contaminate ground water.” (Reuters, 10/4/10)
  3. Taury Smith, NY State’s Top Geologist: “[Smith] said he has been examining the science of hydrofracturing the shale for three years and has found no cases in which the process has led to groundwater contamination.” (Albany Times Union, 3/14/11)
  4. Peter Silva and Cynthia Giles, Top Obama Administration EPA Officials: “No Documented Cases of Hydraulic Fracturing Contamination.” When asked, “Do any one of you know of one case of ground water contamination that has resulted from hydraulic fracturing?”, Mr. Silva said: “Not that I’m aware of, no.” (U.S. Senate hearing, 12/8/09)
  5. Scott Anderson, Environmental Defense Fund’s Senior Policy Advisor: “If wells are constructed right and operated right, hydraulic fracturing will not cause a problem. … Our natural gas supplies would plummet precipitously without hydraulic fracturing.” (E&E TV, 10/27/10)