As a result of increasing regulation, however, and growing recognition within the gas industry that its future depends on public acceptance, the treatment of flowback water has improved greatly.
Protesters say fracking could have "enormous implications" for the local environment particularly about the contamination of waste or flowback water once it has been used in the fracking process.
On April 17, 2012, EPA issued new rules requiring operators to use special equipment to separate and capture the gas and liquid hydrocarbons from the flowback that comes from the fractured wells.