The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent study on the connection between fracking and water contamination made headlines earlier this month, with environmental groups seeing it as proof that fracking threatens drinking water and industry using it to argue that fracking is safe.

On Jan. 17, an oil pipeline leaked an estimated 50,000 gallons of crude oil along the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. The incident contaminated the town's municipal water system, highlighting the risk of building pipelines near water sources and elevating concerns about the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

When it comes to protecting drinking water, fracking companies have just one federal rule to follow – get a permit if they are using diesel. But a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) indicates that many drillers can’t even abide by this simple requirement.