Tag You're It...Pass It On

I read a very interesting article in the Denver Post. I'm wondering why it is that in Colorado, more than just average citizens are taking notice of the fracking process used by oil companies? After reading the article, I then read the comments and this one stuck out:

ILoveChipotle wrote:Oil companies do not frac the aquifers - they do not touch the ground water. The area that is touched by a frac is 8000 feet below the aquifer (that's about a mile & a half away).

Ms. Greenes ignorance & hatred for the industry is astounding.

You are the only one mentioning aquifers.

Are you saying that Coalbed Methane is never found near underground sources of drinking water?

I'm really confused. I'm gonna have to ask some of the smart people I know about the aquifers being touched by fracking. I was thinking that over in Midland, the groundwater has been contaminated, but I could be mistaken. Then I kept reading the comments and came across this one:

I oftentimes disagree with what a columnist writes. Very rarely am I shocked at their ignorance. The two or three articles written by Ms. Greene on fracking are shockingly ignorant. Certain rules, including the chemical disclosure rule that Susan believes to be at issue, were not, and are not, disputed by energy companies. The rules that industry is trying to overturn are those that have have made it nearly impossible to get new permits from the state (yes the state - state regulators - not "you and me").

Fracking is regulated by the state, very heavily so in fact. Anyone who understands even basic geology knows that it would be impossible for fluids from fracking to travel from 8000 feet below the surface to anywhere near water supplies. The important issue when it comes to fracking is the integrity of the cement and metal casing of the pipe. The state requires myriad tests to ensure that integrity, which is why federal regulations would be overly burdensome.

Now, I'm almost certain that there was some leak in some kind of equipment over in Louisiana of fracking fluids. I'm also remembering that some cows, about 16 or so, drank some of that leakage and died. Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that one.