An academic study from the University Texas-Austin shows that the hydraulic fracturing of shale formations to develop natural gas, "has no direct connection to groundwater contamination." Dallas Business Journal (from an article in the Houston Business Journal): The study reported that many problems blamed on hydraulic fracturing are related to processes common to all oil and gas drilling operations, such as casing failures or poor cement jobs. University researchers also concluded that many reports of contamination can be traced to above-ground spills or other mishandling of wastewater produced from shale gas drilling, rather than from hydraulic fracturing, Charles "Chip" Groat, an Energy Institute associate director, said in a statement."These problems are not unique to hydraulic fracturing," he said. The research team examined evidence contained in reports of groundwater contamination attributed to hydraulic fracturing in three prominent shale plays - the Barnett Shale in North Texas; the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, New York and portions of Appalachia; and the Haynesville Shale in western Louisiana and northeast Texas. "Our goal was to....
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