USGS study suggests fracking fluid to blame for fish kill

A U.S. Geological Survey study suggests that a hydraulic fracturing fluid spill in 2007 caused the widespread death of fish in a Kentucky creek, Reuters reported.

The study, conducted by the USGS with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, examined the Appalachian creek Acorn Fork after four natural gas wells expelled fracking fluids into the creek in 2007. A Knox County resident filed a complaint that fish had been dying following the incident.

Acorn Fork was known to be the home of the blackside dace, a fish on a federal list of threatened species, as well as the creek chub and green sunfish.