What happened: An official or staff member at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inserted language into a press release and executive summary that downplayed the risks of fracking operations leading to the contamination of drinking water sources. While the associated EPA report covered the risks of fracking accurately, an EPA official or staff member edited the report’s press release and executive summary to take out language describing potential risks to drinking water from fracking. Instead the following claim was added, “hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread systemic impacts to drinking water resources.” The EPA later removed this statement after the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board and the public raised concerns.
Why it matters: By downplaying the potential risks of fracking operations contaminating drinking water, the EPA mislead the public on what the science suggests could be a health risk for communities living near fracking operations. A press release and an executive summary are more public-facing documents than a report and therefore edits here can have wider repercussions on how the public interprets an EPA’s scientific report.
Learn more about how the EPA mislead the public on potential risks that fracking operations can have on drinking water sources.