New Report: Fracking Failures – Oil and Gas Industry Environmental Violations in Pennsylvania and What They Mean for the U.S.

Oil and gas industry spokespeople routinely claim that the risks of fracking can be minimized by best practices and appropriate state regulation. Not only is this false – fracking is harmful to the environment even when drillers follow all the rules – but drillers also regularly violate essential environmental and public health protections. A look at recent data from Pennsylvania, where key industry players have pledged to clean up their act, illustrates the frequency with which companies still break the rules.

Our new report with Environment America Research & Policy Center, Fracking Failures: Oil and Gas Industry Environmental Violations in Pennsylvania and What They Mean for the U.S., finds that in Pennsylvania, fracking companies violate rules and regulations meant to protect the environment and human health on virtually a daily basis.

Between January 1, 2011, and August 31, 2014, the top 20 offending fracking companies committed an average of 1.5 violations per day that pose serious risks to workers, the environment and public health. Together, these companies have fracking operations in 23 other states, raising concerns about whether they are following the rules there too.

They include subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell, as well as major fracking-industry players Cabot and Chesapeake, local companies like CNX Gas (a subsidiary of Consol Energy), and even the four firms that told the public they would adhere to higher standards when they formed the Center for Sustainable Shale Development in 2013.

Since then, those four firms – EQT, Chevron Appalachia, Consol and Shell – have together committed at least 100 violations.

It’s time to admit that fracking is so dangerous – and rule-breaking so widespread – that the only safe well is one that’s not drilled at all.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has figured this out and banned fracking in his state; other states should follow suit.