This article was originally posted Dec. 8 here

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
Associated Press © 2010 The Associated Press

HOUSTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency order against a Texas gas driller Tuesday, accusing the company of contaminating an aquifer and giving it 48 hours to provide clean drinking water to affected residents and begin taking steps to resolve the problem.

The Nov. 14 episode of CBS's "60 Minutes" included a segment on natural gas drilling in a process called hydraulic fracturing, also sometimes called fracking. The report focused on the discovery of vast amounts of natural gas in the U.S., which could supply all of the nation's energy needs for years to come and the people who have become wealthy after allowing natural gas to be extracted from shale rock on their property. The report focused briefly on the potential harm to the ground water that this process causes.