WASHINGTON, D.C. — The final report from a landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, found no evidence that chemicals or brine water from the gas drilling process moved upward to contaminate drinking water at a site located in western Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report released June 4 was the first time an energy company allowed independent monitoring of a drilling site during the fracking process and for 18 months afterward. After that time, researchers found the chemical-laced fluids used to free the gas stayed about 5,000 feet below drinking water supplies.

The fracking process uses millions of gallons of high-pressure water mixed with sand and chemicals to break apart rock rich in oil and gas.

The conclusion was central to a nearly 1,000-page draft assessment issued by the EPA to address public concerns about the possible effects of fracking on drinking water. The EPA’s assessment, done at the request of Congress, pertained to the impacts of fracking activities on drinking water in the nation.

The EPA felt there might be "potential vulnerabilities" in the water from water acquisition, chemical mixing at the well pad site, well injection or fracking fluids, the collection of hydraulic fracturing wastewater and wastewater treatment and disposal.

While the DOE report did not find evidence of contamination, the agency did say the controversial drilling technique could affect drinking water if safeguards aren’t maintained. It found specific instances where poorly constructed drilling wells and improper wastewater management affected drinking water resources.

But the EPA also reported the number of cases was small compared with the large number of wells that use hydraulic fracturing.

For industry and Congressional voices who have long argued the health hazards associated with fracking are overblown, the report appeared to be a boon. "The study confirms what we already know. Hydraulic fracturing, when done to industry standards, does not impact drinking water," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said.

"States have been effectively regulating hydraulic fracturing for more than 40 years and this study is evidence of that."

In New York, the EPA report already was fueling calls to rescind the state’s fracking ban. Improved drilling techniques have led to a surge in fracking in recent years that has fueled a nationwide boom in production of oil and natural gas, as fracking wells sprouted up from California to Pennsylvania.

Improved technology has allowed energy companies to gain access to vast stores of oil and natural gas underneath states from coast to coast, but has raised widespread concerns that it might lead to groundwater contamination and even earthquakes.

"It’s not a question of safe or unsafe," Tom Burke, deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development, said in a conference call with reporters. "The issue for the EPA is, how do we best reduce vulnerabilities so we can best protect our water and water resources?"