In sum, hydraulic fracturing operates to open and maintain pathways for fluid to flow where it otherwise could not, and the process uses chemicals that would be unsafe if they entered drinking water aquifers or streams. If hydraulic fracturing
were conducted near drinking water aquifers or if the induced fractures were sufficiently long or connected
to long natural fractures, it is conceivable that the process could also connect new fracture networks with pre-existing ones to create a pathway for the natural gas, and the water and chemicals used to release the gas, to flow into drinking water aquifers.