Arkansas and Fracking

Frack Target: Fayetteville Shale

Water Resources at Stake: Arkansas River, Black River, White River, Greens Ferry Lake, Dardanelle Reservoir

Arkansas is no stranger to the boom and bust cycle common to oil and gas development. Far from improving the quality of life for residents, industry has left drill-pocked corners of the state polluted and broke. The state has been the epicenter for a freakishly high number of earthquakes – something critics suspect is due to the underground explosions inherent in the fracking process. In spite of all this, the oil and gas industry still has a lot of sway in the state. When the state legislature was considering watered-down reforms in 2010, industry pressure kept even these minimum protections from going through.

Below is a map of some of the high profile incidents ("fraccidents") related to the country's gas drilling boom that have already occurred in and around Arkansas. Click on any fraccident to learn more.

View Fraccidents Map in a larger map