Got Water?

Great letter to the Editor in Fort Worth Star-Telegram today.  YOU can't afford to miss it.

What's in the water?

Anyone attending the EPA hearings wouldn't be surprised to read that Range Resources has denied contaminating wells. (See: "Range Resources denies EPA allegation that it contaminated water wells," Thursday) We heard gas company representatives spend more than three hours denying exactly the same thing: "There's no credible evidence that gas fracturing causes groundwater contamination."

Of course there's no evidence because the gas industry refuses to identify the three tanker trucks full of chemicals along with the 3 million gallons of fresh water that are injected into every well. They contend there's no correlation between their drilling activities and well water turning brackish and flammable overnight, wildlife deaths, gas explosions or reports of increased childhood leukemia cases.

I wonder what'll happen when the gas companies have finished drilling their 14,000 leases, left our water undrinkable and our air unbreatheable. I guess they'll just pack up their money and move on to the Marcellus Shale, leaving North Texas one big "fracking" mess.

-- Sharon Austry, Fort Worth