Landmark fracking study finds no water pollution

The final report from a landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has found no evidence that chemicals or brine water from the gas drilling process moved upward to contaminate drinking water at one site in western Pennsylvania.

The Department of Energy report was released Monday. It marks the first time an energy company allowed independent monitoring of a drilling site during the fracking process and for 18 months afterward.

Resarchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas stayed about 5,000 feet below drinking water supplies.

A separate study published this week by different researchers examined drilling sites in Pennsylvania and Texas using other methods. It found that faulty well construction can cause pollution, but not fracking itself.

The Energy Department study monitored six wells at one site. Other drilling locations could behave differently.