County officials to host special town hall on fracking issues

Oakland County Commissioners Jim Nash (D-Farmington Hills) and Craig Covey (D-Ferndale), recently announced a special public Town Hall meeting to look at the impact of new state issued leases allowing drilling for oil and natural gas all across Oakland County. The meeting will be conducted Wednesday, Sept. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Oakland County Commissioners' Auditorium, 1200 N. Telegraph, in Pontiac. Fracking, the common term for hydraulic fracturing, often drills wells up to two miles into the Earth, fills it with millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and undisclosed salts and chemicals and subjects it to bursts of extremely intense pressure to loosen rock formations to release natural gas. Companies often drill at angles to get at deposits under other property. Nash states, "High pressure contaminated water can infiltrate the aquifer, well-head blowouts have occurred, water withdrawals affect the surrounding water table, and geologists have linked it to unusual earth tremors." Commissioners have invited Oakland County Water Well Driller Joe Curry to discuss the potential effect of a water table leak or high pressure surface blowout on the water supply. A League of Conservation Voters' fracking specialist, who is also the Policy and Communications Director, Drew YoungeDyke will discuss the LCV's position on the technique. Michigan State House Representative Lisa Brown will discuss state law and legislation that she is working on at the state level. A representative from the extraction industry will discuss their views on the issue. This will be followed by an extended Q&A period to allow the public to have their concerns addressed and discussed on the issue. "The people of Oakland County deserve an open meeting to discuss the important issue of drilling for gas and oil in our heavily populated county," stated Covey, This year, the state opened huge new areas for drilling leases to include in areas surrounding important lakes, like Orchard and Cass Lakes, among others. These recreational waters support high property values, significant economic activity and any harm to them could devastate the local economy. Great numbers of Oakland County residents depend on wells for drinking water as our county is the source of five river watersheds serving Southeast Michigan; any groundwater contamination would affect literally millions of people. For additional information, contact Nash at 248-471-3759. Published: Tue, Sep 4, 2012