A group of central Kentucky land owners and interested citizens are joining together to fight oil and natural gas fracking in their area. The first public meeting of 'Frack Free Foothills' is scheduled for Tuesday night in Berea.
Organizer Janice Owens says land agents for companies interested in hydraulic fracturing began contacting property owners last fall. "The problem was they were contacting us over and over and over again, so we knew we had to find out what this was all about quickly," Owens said. "So we've been making an effort to inform the public probably for about the last month."
Hydraulic fracturing is the process of retrieving oil and gas from beneath the earth's surface by using high pressure liquid.
Frack Free Foothills is described as a coalition of citizens, organizations, property owners, land users, air breathers, and water drinkers. Owens says there are environmental concerns about companies seeking to begin hydraulic fracturing in the area. "Our streams empty right on out down to the Cumberland Lake in this area where we live and could, you know potentially, if this was fracked down this zone here that they are interested in, empty also into Madison County's water distributary," added Owens.
Tuesday's meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Russell Acton Folk Center on West Jefferson in Berea. Among the scheduled speakers is Tom Fitzgerald of the Kentucky Resources Council.?
