A new report released today by Earthworks provides an important window into a disturbing national pattern regarding the oversight of fracking-enabled oil and gas development: regulators, charged with protecting the public, are actively avoiding evidence that fracking is harming the public.
The report focuses on Karnes County, TX, in an attempt to illuminate a growing national pattern of absentee regulators.
Based on state reports and independent environmental testing, Reckless Endangerment in the Eagle Ford Shale: Government Fails, Public Health Suffers and Industry Profits from the Shale Oil Boom reveals:
Residents faced with industry pollution desperate for help
Regulators documented pollution so dangerous that they evacuated
Regulators took no recorded action to protect or warn residents, nor penalize polluting companies
Residents are still living with the dangerous air pollution including cancer-causing toxics like benzene
“People are afraid to drink their own water, afraid of what the next nose bleed means, afraid their homes are no longer safe to live in. They are even afraid to speak out,” said Sharon Wilson, report co-author and Texas resident.