i'm ali velshi "on target", hard to swallow, why some believe a federal report downplaying the damage fracking does to drinking water is wet. show down in texas - oil, money and power pitting people against their own state government. fracking the word itself is synonymous with fierce fights. with health concerns

specifically contaminated drinking water at the center of the fight. that is what is making headlines like these ones so shocking. a preliminary report released last week by the environmental protection agency has been hailed as proof that hydraulic fracturing does no harm to the water line. the e.p.a. things fracking doesn't pollute drinking water. no so fast. in 2010 when it gained momentum congress asked for a definitive study. the report due in 2012. at a cost of $12 million. remember that because now a final report is not due out until 2016, and it's going to cost $29 million, and that is the key. the e.p.a. intended last week's release to be a preliminary assessment, not a definitive statement on the safety concerns that many have. let's take a step back - let me take a step forward.

fracking is the controversial technology fuelling america's energy boom. bottom line, it works by drilling into the shale and injecting with water, sand and chemicals to fracture the rock, releasing oil and gas, collected by wells at the surface. but states and cities nationwide are clashing over how best to address the pollution, and yes, earthquakes that accompany fracking. we are seeing conflicts over local control of drilling in new mexico colorado ohio pennsylvania and new york. in oklahoma there has been a spate of earthquakes that scientists blame on the disposal of shale waste water. norman and still water oklahoma are considering their own curbs, but pro-oil lawmakers complain the local regulations kill jobs. remember contaminated drinking water is the big public concern. many were aware of the dangers

of fracking when they saw moments like this one. while watching josh fox's academy award documentary gasland tonne h.b.o. >> movie reel: oh man. tell me you drink that. >> no way. >> it smelt like turpentine the small that goes to your head making you dizzy. >> here is the thing, i think it's criminal. what if i got chemicals and took it to the big boss and dumped it in his well. they'd have me in the pen my head would spin. they can come here and do what they want to. they don't have to report and tell us what they put in there. >> they was the clip. the man was concerned about his drinking water. it's been criticized by oil and natural bass producers for

misstating facts, for speaking truth to power. joining he is the environmental activist behind "gas land", and "gas land ii" and says the e.p.a. betrayed constituents it was a personal story spurring the idea for the film. seven years ago josh received a 100,000 offer to lease out his property for drilling and he decided against it. good to see you. this draft assessment from the e.p.a. was long. we tried to find parts that were interesting, and here is a quote writing about hydraulic fracturing. e.p.a. said "we did not find mechanisms leading to widespread impacts on drinking water in the united states." this is the headline printed across america. you expect that if the e.p.a. put out a headline in the top of the press release, it would be the same thing that is in their

report. the report is 1,000 pages, and no one knew. >> even me. >> to read it at this early date. the truth of the matter is that this is a patten with e.p.a. of having alarming information inside a scientific report about frack of course while the p.r. department comes out with a statement sounding inokay u louse. the oil and gas industry consistently said there's not one case of contamination for fracking. what is in the e.p.a. report is evidence that fracking contaminates groundwater, contaminates groundwater in pennsylvania, in texas in colorado. >> the headline should read fracking contaminates groundwater. it is moving the goalpost saying the word widespread. let's get into it. if you don't mind. e.p.a. comes out. they issue the statement on a

thursday. sunday they come out and say people are misreporting this. we have to admit we have limited data how do you more tray something as not widespread. >> it was nuanced. 1,000 pages, that's what you get. there was no nuance or ambiguity in 2010. >> there's no ambiguity in the eba report. the report says it contaminates groundwater. make people are not familiar with part 2, but families in others endemic. the e.p.a. came out with a press release after they did several months of testing saying dymocks water is safe. at the same time they sent letters to the residents at carter road where they tested the water wells "don't drink your water" they didn't release

the tests. >> is this bad p.r. or are they confused. the question i'm getting at in 2010 you drew conclusions in your film. it's now 2015, and the e.p.a. takes 1,000 pages to be less clear than you were in the film. what do you know that the e.p.a. doesn't know. >> something changed. the major thing that changed was obama administration policy on fracking. science didn't change. it doesn't lie. it never lies. it's the science. it says there's contaminants or there aren't. or this is the pathway or we don't see it. what can lie is the press release on stop. it's a disturbing trend. >> it's an allegations that the president obama administration for whatever reason - i imagine money is behind it - trumped scientific research. >>. >> i'm a reporter i'm not interested in speculating. what we know from greenpeace on

this fracking study is foyer found dozens of examples industry influence into the e.p.a. we know that when we look at the water tests from the different places it showed fracking contamination. we covered the idea into the local denton texas. they didn't want fracking. the state imposes their will. we'll talk about that. are you talking about at the federal level, white house policy influencing e.p.a. outcomes. that sound more serious than someone in texas saying don't get in the way of drilling. in the democratic case e.p.a. specialists said "we were held back from publicizing the science, because it would affect obama 2012 political presidential campaign", these

are people at epa with science, smoking gun saying this is fracking, water contamination, they risked their jobs, blew the whistle and said we were told not to publicise the information. that's not science, that's not the environmental protection agencies, that's the oil and gas. i want to show people the trailers and the clip. the one that got all the coverage. let's run this clip and we'll discuss it. >> movie reel: i saw it go for a second. >> yes. >> just give it a second.

whoa jesus christ. >> that's the best i've done. [ laughs ] >> i smell hair. >> never gets old. >> it never gets old. we have some geologists and again, it's impossible to know who is on what side, who is paid by whom. geologists say that's methane, and that is often naturally occurring in well water. >> duke university and several other scientific studies, peer review studies came out and said if you are within a mile of a fracking well you are 17 times more likely to have elevated levels of methane in your groundwater. others came out showing that there wasseth an and heavier -- eth an and heavier gases indicating it's coming from drilling. there's a lot of things that can pollute groundwater. i can't speak to every possible

thing. we do know, however, that there's a strong relationship in the e.p.a. report itself the one we are talking about, between fracking and groundwater. that is not the only concern. it's what we see in gasland where a lot of people relate to water as important. the air pathway, that you are living with huge amount of volatile compounds. these are things you are forced to breathe. you can stop drinking and by bottled water, that is making people sick, and e.p.a. was originally supposed to examine air pollutants in the first part of the study, they cut that part. >> should we not trust what the e.p.a. said. there has been presidential candidates that say this dismantle the epa. >> i'm not saying that. i'm saying read the whole report. what is in the report, not the spin on the top of it. it's easy to mapp i'mulate. the -- manipulate.

the science is not easy to manipulate manipulate. there are p.d. fs showing where they looked for contamination, and they found it. not only did they cut the air pollution, but they cut case studies. there's no new case studies. industry refused to cooperate with e.p.a. they would not let e.p.a. on the websites, do ground work. or let chemicals be involved. this industry, the fracking industry is exempt from the safe drinking water act. meaning that you can't know what they are injecting no the ground. how do you test this. this is more than a $29 million study. >> i think it's the biggest take away from the films. how do that happen. how did the politicians allow that to happen. why did it still happen. it did. >> obama made it a campaign pledge. in my backyard, in the primies,

he said these cops have to abide by the safe drinking water act good to see you again. let's make it a habit. we need to talk about this. this is one of the most pressing issues. it makes us rich. the director of "gas land", and "gas land" ii. >> people in texas voted to ban fracking. the governor overwrote the law. residents are fighting mad. a texas stand off in 2 minutes. >> after six weeks of fighting >> you must make you're voice be heard... >> struggling >> it's very scary... >> dreaming >> we're actually working on that as we speak... >> where are they now? >> nothing was given too us, we had to earn everything... >> see how it all ends.. >> all of the other families they give us hope... >> i know that keeps me going... >> we just have to keep doing what we have to do... >> an honest look at the

american dream... >> this definitely gave me an opportunity to grow up... >> you just don't give up... >> hard earned reunion only on al jazeera america

>> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrap-up of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. the city of denton texas sits outside dallas. last november the city banned fracking inside its city limits. local officials said they couldn't resolve problems linked to oil and gas. problems like pollution and traffic. denton residents complained about the health effects of having drilling links near homes and schools. texas's new law is banning the ban on fracking. showing how important oil and gas begame in a state like texas, and hour the balance of power was tilted.

in texas, energy is king oil and gas helped the lone so far state's economy expand at twice the rate of the u.s. now texas may be in danger transitioning from the job engine to its anchor. in march, texas lost 25,400 jobs, the most in the country, and the biggest job loss in four years. the big reason, the price of oil plunged more than half since its peak. many in texas need to do everything they can to keep the oil industry thriving. not etch feels the same way, particularly those in a town called denton, outside of dallas. this is oil country, we are smack dab in the middle of north texas, and platforms like these

had rigs on them in which they were churning out oil through fracking. that got residents concerned. they voted to essentially prohibit fracking from taking place. they banned it. that is about to change. >> the governor signed a bill. all to make sure no town could ban fracking again. the law strips local zoning boards of power to regulate oil and gas and hand it to the state. governor abbott says it's necessary to protect an energy industry to account for a fifth of the economic output. >> we are forming a patchwork quilt of bans and rules and regulations that is eroding the texas mob but denton residents argue that they were being disenfranchised. >> we had home rule, which the

cities i have lived in have been ruled on where we decide what happens to our citizens and our towns. we are telling them we don't have the option. >> reporter: debbie voted in favor of the ban, roughly 300 feet from the house. it made it so. you couldn't breathe, you had a sore throat. eyes watered, were sore all the time. i had the nose bleeds. my dog had a nose bleed. like i said... >> if that is poised to come back, and it happened and you got the symptoms again. >> i'm leaving. >> but where will you go? >> some place where there's not a shale underneath. >> it's surprising because the texas ethos has been smaller government, closer to people the better. what we see is the state government saying to local governments look we know better, we don't want you to have zoning we don't want you to keep fracking out. it goes against 20-30 years of

what we see in texas. industry advocates say in many cases they were there first. in denton residents were moved closer where the ownership of mineral rights were permitted to drill. energy companies point to time lapses like these to emphasise points arguing that denton had no right to ban fracking in the first place. those like debbie recognise the need for residents and energy companies to co-exist. >> i have no problem with gas and oil. texas is a gas and oil state. people that have the underground rites have the right to make money off of them. what we are trying to do is make them be more responsible. make them not dig under every single place, and dig wells everywhere. >> state governments are taking note.

colorado, ohio florida and new mexico are in the process of passing similar legislation. in oklahoma the house and the senate voted to outlaw band in spite of a survey that said it's likely that most of oklahoma's earthquakes were triggered by the oil and gas operations. the state is averaging 2.5 earthquakes per day, with a magnitude of three or greater. in recent months oil and gas companies laid off workers across texas and other states, as plans are put on the shovels. -- shelve. that raises the questions as to whether low prices of oil can do a better job of fracking than local bans. >> david joins me now. don't -- denton - it's not like

it was spreading. >> that's right, you see pockets in certain places. this is big business in texas, the energy sector crickets $102 billion, the largest crude oil is in texas, representing a lot of money. denton is a threat. the idea this could happen, working through the courts. the texas legislator wants to promote the industry particularly given the price of oil, how much that sagged how much workers could be laid off. they want to protect the industry. >> the united states as you know is unusual in terms of service rites to private property and mineral rights. when you talk about private property and whose rite it is it's confusing. what are the rights. should oil companies have a rite to what they claim is their gas on someone's property if a city says no fracking. >> it's a federal statute dating back to the 1800s encouraging oil exploration.

if you have mineral rights it trumps the rights of mineral openers. you saw oil company arguments that this is their territory first, and they have mineral rites. no matter what you do on the surface it has trumped the rites of service centers. this is working the way through the courts, conventional wisdom says they'll have to win this it speaks to how big an industry and how important it is to texas and others that they put it to legislators and sign this into law if you are in denton texas and you don't want fracking, what are your options? >> there's not many. you can move to an area where there's no shale. as technology increases we find ways to squeeze oil out of areas we didn't think possible. it's hard to know what area is safe. >> thank you great reporting. after texas governor abbott signed the ban on fracking.

i spoke to a key proponen. todd staples, the principal of the oil and gas association representing the companies that produced crude oil and it backed the bill to back fracking bans. let's talk about why texas needed the fracking ban. denton is the only town in texas. it's not the only phenomenon there are people in your state that thing the federal government will invade and you get biker gangs, this doesn't rate among the things you need to be concerned about. >> we have seen that we have people providing misinformation about what oil and gas extraction is doing today, saying that fracking is causing environmental problems when we have studies conducted in the area. they said the public is protected, the water quality is

protected. so i think it's this misinformation that led to this. i want to admit up front, i think operators need to do the best job we can to communicate to public. industrial action provides discomfort to everyone we want to be good neighbours. >> it strikes me i love the state a great deal, and spend as much time as a can. i'm fascinated texans are about home rule. the idea that the state tells a municipality that it can't do something. as a texan, if you were from denton, would it sit badly with you. >> the cities are created by the states. the state grants the rights to the cities, what we know to have a good economy is we want to protect communities and ability to create jobs. the bill, if you read the bill,

it affirms the rites cities have. local control doesn't mean out of control. it doesn't mean anyone gets to do anything they want to do. there's constitutional rites at stake. i might point out many of the minerals are owned by families whose properties were denied access to. the individuals and families have a right to properties and the bundle of rights they are entitled to. >> next, hacking america - "on target" takes a trip into the dark web. >> he was electro-shocked and tortured. >> decades of corruption abuse, and torture, by chicago police... >> you think people make a distinction between cia, black ops sites, verses torturing a thirteen year old kid from the south-side? >> people realize that torture is torture. >> lisa fletcher brings you an in depth report

chicago torture only on al jazeera america

every 3 seconds someone's identity is stolen and you on need to look at the headlines of massive data breaches. there's no escaping the reality that your information is

vulnerable. next week we bring you a report hacking america. mary snow went into the dark web with a hacker. what she found will surprise you. >> they can sell access to the computer. >> how much does that go for, stolen information? >> from $20 to $50. >> that's it. >> $20 to $50 and you can take over my computer and i have no idea you are doing it. >> that's it. >> don't miss that report "ali velshi on target". i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us.

billion dollars. >> this is their dirty little secret. >> this week on talk to al jazeera katrina adams, she sits atop u.s. tennis as chairman of the board, ceo, and president of the united states tennis association. >> it's been 133 years since we were founded, so it is an honor to be the first... i don't think i have to fight for it uh...i was just being me.