Over the past few years, Halliburton has led the effort to exempt a specific drilling technique from environmental regulation. The technology called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, forces oil out of the ground under enormous pressure. The vice president’s Energy Task Force included language that supports fracking in the energy bill, now under Senate consideration. The EPA has determined the technique poses no threat to drinking water supplies. And yet residents who live near fracking projects complain of carbonated and polluted drinking water. Host Steve Curwood talks with Wes Wilson, an engineer with EPA, who’s filed criticism against the agency for its lack of scientific review. Tom Hamburger, who’s covered the issue for the Los Angeles Times, also joins the conversation.
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