A state investigation into the likely causes of groundwater contamination near the small western Wyoming town of Pavillion, which appears to rule out the hydraulic fracturing of nearby gas wells, is not the last word on the subject, a state spokesman said Monday.
In a 127-page draft report released Friday, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality said tests of 13 water-supply wells in the area found evidence of both organic and inorganic compounds over applicable drinking water standards, but no evidence that fracking fluid had risen from gas formations below to the shallow depths at which water wells are located.
"Based on an evaluation of hydraulic fracturing history, and methods used in the Pavillion Gas Field, it is unlikely that fracturing has caused any impacts to the water-supply wells," according to a DEQ fact sheet accompanying the report.
The finding conflicts with a federal report issued four years ago, following an investigation by the Environment Protection Agency.
"This does not end our study," spokesman Keith Guille said Monday. "There is additional work that we're considering."
Among the steps the department might take is the drilling of deep monitoring wells. Guille said the DEQ wanted to collect its initial data from the water-supply wells before undertaking the much more expensive step of drilling its own deep monitoring wells.
"We can make a better determination if monitoring wells are used," he said.
"We're not done. We're vested in this. We certainly want to have some answers for the residents and for the state as well," he said.
INDUSTRY, STATE OFFICIALS HAD CHALLENGED EPA STUDY
The state report contradicts a finding the EPA issued in December 2011, which found that groundwater contamination in the small rural community "contains compounds likely associated with gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing."
That statement in an EPA draft report ignited a firestorm of controversy, in which oil and gas industry advocates and Wyoming state officials both challenged the EPA's findings and methodology.
The EPA eventually backed off its initial findings and turned further investigation into the causes of water contamination in the area to state officials.
While it absolved fracking of any blame for the contamination, the DEQ investigation, which cost more the $900,000, did not entirely let the oil and gas industry off the hook.
Organic compounds found at concentrations less than drinking water standards "may have originated from a multitude of possible sources, including spills, oil and gas activities and other residential and industrial uses," the fact sheet said.
The study also found natural gas in the water wells, which had likely seeped upward from shallow gas sands.
The report cited evidence that suggested the seepage was occurring naturally before gas wells were drilled in the area, although gas escaping from nearby wells could be contributing to the problem.
DEQ will accept comments on the draft report through March 18, after which the agency will decide what steps it might take to follow up on its initial investigation.
REPORT BOLSTERS INDUSTRY
Oil and gas industry advocates pointed to the DEQ report as bolstering their long-held contention that fracking was not at fault for Pavillion's water woes.
"They did say that if there's any contamination, it's from naturally occurring causes, the geology in that area. It's not from fracking for sure," Bruce Hinchey, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said Monday.
"They can always call for more investigations, but they're not going to find anything any different than what this report says," he said.
Encana, the largest gas operator in the area, has been a frequent target of criticism by some residents, who blame the company for the pollution in their wells.
"No evidence suggests a link was found between hydraulic fracturing operations in the field and the reported palatability concerns," Encana spokesman Doug Hock said in a statement Monday.
The company "will continue to cooperate with the state and EPA to address domestic well water palatability concerns in Pavillion Field," he said.
Earthworks energy program director Bruce Baizel responded to the DEQ draft report by criticizing the state agency and Encana.
"It is disappointing but completely unsurprising that the state of Wyoming's study of pollution of Pavillion-area drinking water, funded by Encana, found Encana not responsible for the pollution," he said in a statement.
