Four years ago this week, the town of Pavillion, Wyoming was launched into the national debate over fracking when the Environmental Protection Agency released a draft study linking the practice to groundwater contamination in the area. After coming under fire for its conclusions, the agency abandoned its study and turned the investigation over to the state.
A recent investigation by the Casper Star-Tribune traces the progress of the subsequent inquiry, and finds for all the talk, there’s been very little action. Ben Storrow reported the story, and he joined Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce to discuss it. He started by explaining that in the 50,000-plus public documents he combed through, one of the most striking findings was that the state internally considered drilling groundwater monitoring wells in Pavillion to study the contamination but never disclosed that plan publicly and never acted on it.