WSJ: Faulty Wells, Not Fracking, Blamed for Water Pollution

Some energy companies, state regulators, academics and environmentalists are reaching consensus that natural-gas drilling has led to several incidents of water pollution—but not because of fracking.

The energy officials and some environmentalists agree that poorly built wells are to blame for some cases of water contamination. In those cases, they say, wells weren't properly sealed with subterranean cement, which allowed contaminants to travel up the well bore from deep underground into shallow aquifers that provide drinking water.

Many community activists have said that hydraulic fracturing itself—a process that uses water, sand and chemicals to break up shale rocks and release gas—can pollute drinking water. The energy industry has countered that the technique, which it has used for decades, isn't to blame for water contamination.  MORE (registration required)