There has been significant community concern that high volume hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus
Shale may allow fluids–including natural gas–to rise from connected fracture networks several thousands
of feet below aquifers. In addition,the Marcellus Shale has been deeply fractured by several geologic events
since deposition of the shale. Where the Marcellus Shale occurs near the surface, for example in western New
York, natural gas has been known to seep naturally into drinking water aquifers and to the surface. Available
evidence suggests that deep shale (several thousand feet) is not naturally connected to drinking water sources through fracture networks, likely because of the discontinuity of fractures across numerous lithologies