The Flower Mound-Bartonville area is on the shortlist of regions that could be studied as part of a federal review of the hydraulic fracturing method of natural gas drilling.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft plan Tuesday detailing how it would study whether hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was polluting drinking water sources - one of the key questions at the center of a national debate over the industry's environmental effects.
The two Denton County towns, which sit atop the Barnett Shale gas formation and are home to extensive drilling operations, are listed among the candidates for two to three prospective case studies involving sites where fracking will be researched as it is occurring. The other potential sites are the Bakken Shale in Berthold Indian Reservation, N.D.; the Marcellus Shale in Green County, Pa.; and the Niobrara Shale in Laramie County, Wyo.
Federal regulators also are planning three to five case studies in areas with reported instances of water contamination or other problems potentially linked to fracking, according to the draft plan. The Barnett Shale of Wise and Denton counties is listed among the finalists, along with areas in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Colorado.
Congress ordered the study amid public concern that fracking was polluting drinking water sources. The practice involves pumping millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals underground to break up rock and free gas.
Complaints of groundwater pollution have arisen in many areas where fracking has occurred. State regulators have repeatedly said there were no credible cases in Texas of groundwater contamination related to fracking.
The issue drew heightened attention in December when the EPA issued an emergency order against Fort Worth-based Range Production Co. and parent company Range Resources after EPA testing found dangerous levels of methane and other chemicals in two water wells serving two homes in southern Parker County west of Fort Worth.
EPA officials did not blame the water pollution in Parker County on hydraulic fracturing but said natural gas in the water supply matched the composition of gas from two nearby Range gas wells. Company officials denied any link.
Energy companies typically have refused to disclose the exact makeup of their fracking fluids, but the EPA is expected to obtain that information as part of its review.
At a town hall meeting in Bartonville late last year, EPA groundwater expert Michael Overbay said the federal study would include collecting water samples at sites across the country where problems had been reported and analyzing the samples for a broad range of chemicals used in fracking. Preliminary results are expected by late 2012, he said.
LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.
