Hydraulic fracturing was first used more than 100 years ago in 1903, but the first commercial fracturing treatment was performed in 1949. By some accounts it took more than 40 years for geologists and engineers to perfect the process, but since then, the pay-off has been extraordinary. Its efficacy in bringing new life to old wells quickly made it an integral part of our nation’s energy strategy, and by 1988, it had been applied more than one million times. As technology improved, hydraulic fracturing’s applications did, as well. Now, fracturing is used not only to stimulate production in old wells, but to jump start the production process in unconventional formations and in unfavorable locations. Operators now fracture about 35,000 wells each year with no record of harm to groundwater.
http://www.energyindepth.org/in-depth/frac-in-depth/history-of-hf/
Even the EPA itself admits this. But they will still try to outlaw/ban/price out of existence fracking.