Industry Money and Questionable Ethics Contaminate UT Austin Fracking Study

Scientific American - by David Wogan - July 24, 2012

Remember that study out of The University of Texas last February that concluded there wasn’t a direct link between fracking and groundwater contamination? It caught flack for seeming to being too easy on the fracking industry by suggesting that there wasn’t a direct link between cracking shale and groundwater contamination. The study was great news for an industry fighting a PR battle over a politically-charged issue.

However, financial ties to the fracking industry were never mentioned in all of the announcements about the study, and not known until a new study put out Monday by the Public Accountability Initiative. The study’s leader, Dr. Charles “Chip” Groat has significant financial ties to the fracking industry, to the tune of a couple of million dollars.

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Contaminated Inquiry - How a University of Texas Fracking Study Led by a Gas Industry Insider Spun the Facts and Misled the Public
http://public-accountability.org/2012/07/contaminated-inquiry/

Contaminated Inquiry - How a University of Texas Fracking Study Led by a Gas Industry Insider Spun the Facts and Misled the Public (25 page .PDF file)
http://public-accountability.org/wp-content/uploads/ContaminatedInquiry.pdf

UT-Austin - Study - Fact-Based Regulation for Environmental Protection in Shale Gas Development
http://energy.utexas.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=151&Itemid=160