The New York Post posted a story today about a federal report stating that fracking does not harm drinking water. I suspect this is going to be a problem for many environmentalists. It will be interesting to see how they react to the study.

The article reports:

In their report, federal researchers studied the entire fracking process, from the acquisition of water to the disposal of wastewater.

Prompted by Congress, researchers reviewed thousands of pages of studies and conducted their own investigations of fracking, which collects natural gas and petroleum deep below the surface.

“Stated simply, this study follows the water,” Burke said. “We looked at each stage of the hydraulic water fracturing cycle to determine the potential impact on potential drinking-water resources.”

Before releasing the report, the feds sought comment from the public, industry officials, states, Indian tribes and nongovernmental organizations.

The report identified factors to consider: whether an area has enough water for people’s needs as well as fracking; spills; accidental injection into drinking-water sites; well failure; subsurface migration of gases and liquids; and inadequate or poorly treated wastewater.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, said the study was a validation of the safety of fracking.

When attempting to evaluate this report, consider the fact that a lot of the anti-fracking movement is funded by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). Obviously they have a vested interest in preventing America from developing her oil resources.