In the US, energy and mining companies are frequently given aquifer exemptions by the EPA, especially in Western states where water is scarce. Aquifer exemptions form part of the government’s Underground Injection Control Program. These exemptions, however, can be viewed as permission to pollute aquifers, as these companies are allowed to release toxic material into underground reservoirs with the threat of contaminating the nation's drinking water.
Ideally, the aquifer exemptions should be granted for areas that do not need protecting because they do not currently or will not serve as a source of drinking water in the future. However, investigations by newsroom ProPublica showed that the EPA sometimes issued permits for areas of reservoirs that are in use, but the permits are restricted to certain parts of the reservoirs. This, of course, does not always work that way, as some mining companies operate short distances away from water sources used by people for drinking, and for their livestock, making it possible for easy contamination of potable water.
Check out the original article here: https://www.propublica.org/article/poisoning-the-well-how-the-feds-let-industry-pollute-the-nations-undergroun