A presentation called “Fracking for Natural Gas” will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 26, at the Frank Merriweather Library, 1324 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo.
The presentation and discussion will be sponsored by Erie County Legislature Chairperson Betty Jean Grant (D-Buffalo), We Are Women Warriors, Citizen Action of Western New York, Food and Water Watch and WNY Drilling Defense.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” is an extreme process that uses millions of gallons of fresh water, sand and cancer-causing chemicals to break up rock formations deep underground to release natural gas. Fracking has been cited in other states as a threat to surface and ground water, and has been blamed for fatal explosions and the contamination of drinking water, local streams, the air and soil.
“The federal Environmental Protection Agency found arsenic and barium in drinking water in Pennsylvania where fracking occurred in January 2012. Collateral damage includes lost property value and the drying up of mortgage loans for prospective home buyers,” Chairperson Grant said. “As the natural gas industry seeks to bring the process to New York and threaten resources, we, the organizers, want to find out the truth about the risks.”