"Federal regulators are unlikely to step up enforcement of potential water contamination cases linked to natural gas drilling -- despite new concerns about water safety -- given a lack of political will and limited resources to pursue such cases, analysts said."

"A report quietly made public on Christmas Eve by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog brought back into the spotlight concerns about the effects on water quality from the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The report said the EPA was justified in issuing an emergency order in 2011, asking the oil and gas driller Range Resources to improve monitoring and provide clean water to a family in Parker County, Texas, whose water supply had been contaminated with methane as a result of nearby fracking."

Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters January 5, 2014. [2]