Texas lies at the epicenter of the nation’s hydraulic fracturing – fracking – boom. What began in the Barnett Shale of North Texas 15 years ago has spread to the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and across the United States, to include regions unaccustomed to dealing with the fossil fuel industry. Until early 2014, the national media had paid little attention to the frenzy of drilling in the Eagle Ford, one of the most active shale plays in the world. It seemed the right place for us to explore a little-discussed yet critical aspect of the boom: toxic air emissions associated with wells, compressor stations and processing plants. In February 2014, InsideClimate News, the Center for Public Integrity and The Weather Channel published the first installments in what would become a 20-month investigative project: “Big Oil, Bad Air.” Among the findings:
• Texas’ air monitoring system is so flawed that it’s impossible to measure the nature and extent of air pollution in the 20,000-square-mile Eagle Ford region.
• Thousands of oil and gas facilities are allowed to self-audit their emissions without reporting them to the state, meaning toxic chemicals often fill the air without regulatory oversight.
• Of the 284 oil- and gas-related complaints filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by Eagle Ford residents over a nearly four-year period, only two resulted in fines against operators despite 164 documented violations. Residents complained of headaches, dizziness, nosebleeds and breathing problems — symptoms shared by people who live near drilling sites in Pennsylvania, Colorado, North Dakota and other fracking hot spots.
• State lawmakers are more focused on promoting the industry than on regulating it. Legislators invest in the industry, work in the industry and receive royalties from the industry for oil on their own land.
The package included exhaustively researched stories, graphics, and an online documentary. We also hired photographer Lance Rosenfield to capture the landscape and people of the Eagle Ford. The response from readers and viewers was swift and forceful: One federal health scientist emailed us to say it was “one of the best pieces I have read on the subject.” “I am haunted by the words of one family in your report,” a Texas attorney wrote. “They and their kids really are in harm’s way.”
The stories received wide media coverage from outlets including NPR, the Rachel Maddow Show, Texas Public Radio, PBS NewsHour and Scientific American. We didn’t stop there. Our investigation continued throughout 2014 as we examined complex topics such as:
• A federal exemption that removes most oil and gas waste from EPA oversight. This means that scientists know almost nothing about air emissions from the industry’s waste stream. The story was accompanied by a 5-minute documentary by CPI reporter Eleanor Bell.
• Growing health worries, including rare cancers among young adults, in the Barnett Shale, site of the nation’s longest-running experiment about what happens when families find themselves living amidst large-scale drilling and fracking operations.
• The suspect firings of two by-the-book oil and gas inspectors
• The systematic but little-noticed loosening of chemical standards by the TCEQ, and a murky, industry-friendly consulting firm that has blessed the weakened standards
• An anticipated surge in greenhouse gas and toxic air emissions from chemical plant expansions fueled by the shale boom.