Pickets March on Morgantown Drill Site

A number of Morgantown area residents associated with the West Virginia for a Moratorium on Marcellus drilling and fracking (WV4MOM) held two separate roadside protests Thursday near a Marcellus shale drilling site just a few miles from downtown Morgantown, according to Radio WAJR.

The group continues to call for a ban on Marcellus shale drilling. Protestor Kathy Cash says Northeast Energy plans to begin hydraulic fracking at the site September 22nd. “We are very deeply concerned about this issue and we are going to be monitoring what’s going on,” she said.

 Morgantown City Council originally passed a fracking ban for areas inside and just outside the city limits, but a circuit judge threw out the ordinance saying the state DEP has the authority over drilling sites. Attorney Richard Cohen, who was at Thursday’s protest, said residents haven’t given up the fight. “We will hold them (Northeast Energy) to task. We intend to continue organizing,” he said. “They need to be very careful what they do. Because it’s our community they are going to effect.”

Morgantown resident Roz Becker says allowing fracking is a huge mistake. “I think it’s going to endanger our water supply and our air quality,” she said. “You can visit other communities and see the damage that it’s done.”   The pickets were in place from 11 to 2 pm and from 4 to 6 pm.  Limited television news coverage took place, by WDTV.

The company has maintained fracking has been taking place for years and is a safe process. It has gained all the required permits. The company says it has worked with several agencies to make sure the drilling project is a success. (However, the use of very high pressures, 10,000 pounds per square inch frequently used in fracking, is of great concern for its potential to result in blowouts that can contaminate ground water and the River as well as air pollution that could affect the local residents and local schools. DGN).