Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) CREDIT: AP Photo / Pablo Martinez Monsivais A Pennsylvania congressman just launched an investigation into how his state deals with fracking waste, the Center for Public Integrity reports. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a first-term Democrat representing Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district, sent a letter to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Wednesday, requesting “information about the state regulatory process for monitoring the handling and disposal of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) waste.” Fracking is a process in which a mix of chemicals, water, and other materials is pumped into drilled wells, fracturing the underlying geological formations and allowing natural gas or oil to come to the surface.