WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A conservation group is questioning some people who turned up at a public hearing in western North Carolina to support fracking.
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League has a video showing that the group of supporters from Winston-Salem seemed to know very little about the issue at the hearing late last week in Cullowhee, The Winston-Salem Journal (https://bit.ly/1sgBC8c) reported.
Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemicals to break apart underground rocks to release oil and gas.
One of those identified as a supporter said he did not know much about fracking when he was questioned by an opponent of the process. The group of supporters were wearing T-shirts that said “Shale yes.”
“It became readily apparent that these folks in the T-shirts did not know much about fracking,” said Dave Robertson, a field organizer in Raleigh with the Environment North Carolina.
The incident happened at a meeting of the state Mining and Energy Commission at Western Carolina University. The meeting was one of four across the state to gather comments from the public about proposed rules that will regulate shale gas exploration in North Carolina.
Companies will be able to obtain permits for fracking as early as next spring. The mining commission is still working on regulations for the industry.
The public hearings have been attended mostly by people opposed to fracking.
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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, https://www.journalnow.com
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