"MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A gas company that legally doused a patch of West Virginia forest with salty wastewater from a drilling operation killed ground vegetation within days and more than half the trees within two years, a new report from the U.S. Forest Service says.

Lead researcher Mary Beth Adams says that the damage to the quarter-acre, detailed in a case study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, shows the need for more research into industry practices.

"There is virtually no information in the scientific literature about the effects of gas well development on forests in the eastern U.S.," she said Monday. That "paucity of knowledge" must be filled so land managers and regulators can make better decisions."

Vicki Smith reports for the Associated Press July 11, 2011. [2]