Washington County's Future: A Colossal Fracking Mess

The dirty truth behind the new natural gas. Related: A Vanity Fair video look at a town transformed by fracking.
By Christopher Bateman• Photographs by Jacques del Conte
WEB EXCLUSIVE June 21, 2010

By October 2009, the D.E.P. had taken all the water wells in the Sautners’ neighborhood offline. It acknowledged that a major contamination of the aquifer had occurred. In addition to methane, dangerously high levels of iron and aluminum were found in the Sautners’ water.

The Sautners now rely on water delivered to them every week by Cabot. The value of their land has been decimated. Their children no longer take showers at home. They desperately want to move but cannot afford to buy a new house on top of their current mortgage.

“Our land is worthless,” says Craig. “Who is going to buy this house?”
Read More http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006#ixzz0rfoOEf7E

Know the Drill - VIDEO
Produced by Jacques del Conte
June 22, 2010

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/06/fracking-video-201006#ixzz0rfhxmmYc