Fracking Draws Frustrated Residents at Board of Health Meeting
By: Monica Yantosh
Updated: September 24, 2012
"It's a really scary thing, all over the country, people have been getting sick in association with the wells," said Leann Lamb-Vines, a Lubbock resident.
She was at the meeting Monday morning to voice her concerns about fracking. She's been reading all about it since she heard it may happen in Lubbock.
Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, is a way to extract natural gas and oil from the ground by drilling deep into the ground. The process is controversial as some say it's causes harm to the environment, while others say there are no claims to issues from fracking.
"They were showing the stuff they pumped down comes up, which means, of course, other things are going to come up too," said Dr. Ted Reid.
He presented at the meeting research about fracking in Pennsylvania which has lead to health problems and water issues. Those are issues he doesn't want to see in Lubbock.
"I want to make sure that nothing happens, that 10 years from now, or 15 years from now, or even next year, that we have stuff that's coming up from deep down, into our drinking water," said Dr. Reid.
"I think we need to address these fears, we don't want people living in fear and being afraid of energy," said Dr. Donald May.
He's optimistic about the opportunities fracking could bring. "The price of everything comes down when the price of energy comes down and this is a way to do it," said Dr. May.
"Fracking is taking thousands of feet below our drinking water supply, and no I don't want to ruin our drinking water supply, I want good drinking water," said May.
"People have been looking at this for decades, and there has never been any evidence that this has effected the drinking water," said Dr. May.
Board member Brian Carr says it's their job to explore all options.
"We have the pleasure of being a thoughtful, thorough body that just wants to use scientific knowledge to help improve our community," said Carr.
The board will hold another meeting in two weeks with outside experts to continue looking at the issue before they write a recommendation for City Council.
She was at the meeting Monday morning to voice her concerns about fracking. She's been reading all about it since she heard it may happen in Lubbock.
Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, is a way to extract natural gas and oil from the ground by drilling deep into the ground. The process is controversial as some say it's causes harm to the environment, while others say there are no claims to issues from fracking.
"They were showing the stuff they pumped down comes up, which means, of course, other things are going to come up too," said Dr. Ted Reid.
He presented at the meeting research about fracking in Pennsylvania which has lead to health problems and water issues. Those are issues he doesn't want to see in Lubbock.
"I want to make sure that nothing happens, that 10 years from now, or 15 years from now, or even next year, that we have stuff that's coming up from deep down, into our drinking water," said Dr. Reid.
"I think we need to address these fears, we don't want people living in fear and being afraid of energy," said Dr. Donald May.
He's optimistic about the opportunities fracking could bring. "The price of everything comes down when the price of energy comes down and this is a way to do it," said Dr. May.
"Fracking is taking thousands of feet below our drinking water supply, and no I don't want to ruin our drinking water supply, I want good drinking water," said May.
"People have been looking at this for decades, and there has never been any evidence that this has effected the drinking water," said Dr. May.
Board member Brian Carr says it's their job to explore all options.
"We have the pleasure of being a thoughtful, thorough body that just wants to use scientific knowledge to help improve our community," said Carr.
The board will hold another meeting in two weeks with outside experts to continue looking at the issue before they write a recommendation for City Council.
Comments
I totally agree with Dr. Ted Reid. Too close with the chemicals to our drinking water supply which is drying up because no rain and over pumping by everybody.
Denis S.
September 25, 2012 at 11:17 am
