8/26/14 - Livingston County will be helping Conway Township incorporate suggestions from an anti-fracking organization into its ordinances and master plan. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process by which water, sand, and a variety of chemicals are injected deep underground at high pressure to break apart rocks that contain oil and natural gas, which can then be harvested. The slurry used in the process is left underground rather than removed, and critics of fracking say it poses untold risks to the environment and the health of local people. For Love of Water, or FLOW, is an organization based in Traverse City that works with municipalities to suggest changes to local ordinances and regulations with the aim of making fracking easier to regulate and protecting residents from negative health effects. Conway Township began working with FLOW after a fracking operation began within its borders last year (pictured), and officials now have a number of suggestions they would like to put into action. Monday night, the county's Public Safety and Infrastructure & Development Committee approved a request from Conway Township for assistance in that process. County planners will now help make sure the changes to the ordinances and master plan in Conway work together in the way officials would like. Township Secretary Cindy Dickerson says this also helps set the stage for other local municipalities to work with FLOW and protect their residents as well. (TD/JK)
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