CounterSpill

On Nov. 3, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its long-awaited plan to study the effects of hydraulic fracking on drinking water. 

Federal investigators will look to uncover any possible impact that fracking fluid -- which is made up of hundreds of toxic and nontoxic chemicals -- may have on water both above and below drilling sites. 

"Natural gas plays a key role in our nation's clean energy future, and the Obama administration is committed to ensuring that we continue to leverage this vital resource responsibly," the EPA said, according to Reuters. 

The EPA explained the study will examine the entire water lifecycle of fracking, from the creation of the fluid to its disposal. They will also study well design and the natural gas extraction process. 

Drilling sites in Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota, Texas and Pennsylvania will be examined. The earliest results will be announced in 2012, but the completed report will not be available until 2014. 

Katherine Nadeau, the water and natural resources program director for Environmental Advocates for New York, told WNYC she hopes the EPA probe will legitimize their concerns.

“This gives [New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon] Silver and other people who have been calling on the state to slow the rush to drill another way of saying, 'but wait, we’ve got information coming,'” she said. “It’s not saying we should just wait until kingdom come. It’s saying we should wait until we’ve got the information we need to make informed decisions."

Advocates of fracking remain undeterred. Stephanie Meadows of the American Petroleum Institute told the Associated Press she is confident the study will prove the industry's best practices. 

“The industry has taken the lead in working with state regulators to constantly improve operations, industry practices and guidelines as well as improve communications with local communities,” she said.

The EPA conducted a study on fracking in 2004, however it was limited to its use in coalbead methane deposits. That study concluded the technology as safe, but the methods used to determine its safety were hotly contested. A recent Duke University study also directly contradicted the EPA's 2004 report.