The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on March 8 that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson urged the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) to require more frequent radiation testing at drinking water systems downstream from wastewater plants that receive fracking wastewater from the Marcellus shale drilling operations. The letter also urged PA DEP to consider amending the permits for wastewater plants accepting the wastewater and requested a list of those plants.
The article notes that water quality monitoring conducted by PA DEP near public supply intakes did not show elevated radiation levels above background levels.
Meanwhile, in comments submitted February 28 to EPA’s Science Advisory Board regarding the agency’s plan to study the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, AWWA noted that monitoring data from some water systems in western PA indicate a linkage between fracking and drinking water contamination. Specifically, bromide concentrations in the Allegheny River have increased, and water systems on the river are reporting increased levels of DBPs.