2/6/14 - The issue of fracking has come to Livingston County in Conway Township, but the next focus of the discussion may turn out to be Green Oak Township. Hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' is a process to extract oil and natural gas from rocks deep underground by breaking them apart with high-pressure water, sand, and chemicals. It is controversial because opponents believe the chemicals it leaves in the ground could seep into the local water supply and damage the health of the community. Green Oak Township Supervisor Mark St. Charles says he has received a forwarded message from the county clerk informing him that a company was proposing a drilling operation, apparently in the vicinity of Grand River and Pleasant Valley Road. Depending on the placement of the operation, it could be less than 1,000 feet from the wells used by the Island Briggs Water Authority. St. Charles has gone to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, but it had not yet received an application for the project. St. Charles tells WHMI it is still too early to presume this is meant to be a fracking project, and that it could just as easily be a traditional drill. New drilling operation applications with the MDEQ do not have public hearings, but there will be a period for public comment, and St. Charles expects that no matter what kind of operation is proposed for the county, officials and residents will make themselves heard on the issue. Meanwhile, Conway Township officials have teamed up with a Traverse City environmental organization known as FLOW, or For Love Of Water, to host a public gathering tonight at 6:30pm at the Alverson Performing Arts Auditorium in Fowlerville. The presentation will focus on the environmental concerns surrounding fracking. (TD/JK)
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