11/30/13 - Officials all around the county are interested in how they can keep hydraulic fracturing out of their municipalities, and one Howell Township trustee plans to get that information at a meeting next week. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process where water, chemicals, and sand are pumped deep underground at high pressure to break up rocks containing oil and natural gas, which can then be extracted. It is controversial because of the unknown long-term effects on health and the environment. One such operation is currently underway in Conway Township, and residents opposed to it recently visited the Traverse City-based organization, For Love of Water, or FLOW. That organization is opposed to fracking and helps inform municipalities about the process, its impact, and what can be done at a local level to prevent it. Howell Township Trustee Mike Tipton tells WHMI Conway Township residents will be sharing what they learned at a meeting Monday, and he plans to attend and find out what can be done in Howell Township. He says currently it appears that the only thing a township can do is pass a six-month moratorium on the practice, which can give officials time to find new solutions while at the same time sending a message that fracking is not welcome in that community. Howell Township is recognized on the FLOW website for its ordinance regulating new pipelines, which was created in response to work on the Enbridge Energy pipeline. Texas-based GeoSouthern Energy was granted a high-volume permit to use hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas, crude oil or both at the Maple Grove Farm property in Conway Township. The company says it is still in the exploratory stage and results from core samples that have been taken will determine if they will proceed with hydraulic fracturing. (TD/JK)
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