GAO report delivers mixed message on gas drilling PITTSBURGH
(AP) - A new study from the Congressional Government
Accountability Office says shale gas and shale oil drilling does
pose environmental and public health risks, but the extent of
those risks is unknown. The GAO also says regulators from eight
states report the natural gas process called hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking, doesn't cause groundwater pollution.
The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for
Congress. The study says that in some cases a scarcity of
scientific data and differing regulations make it difficult to
draw firm conclusions about shale oil and gas impacts. GAO also
notes that while federal agencies have given different estimates
of the amount of recoverable shale gas in the nation, all the
estimates have increased dramatically over the last few years.
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