skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State Hearings Begin Today on Fracking in NC

play audio
Play

Tuesday, March 20, 2012   

SANFORD, N.C. - A meeting today in Sanford marks the North Carolina public's first chance to hear from state officials about the controversial process of fracking, where natural gas is extracted from the ground with horizontal drillings, after rock formations deep underground are fractured with chemicals.

While supporters see the financial benefits to the state and some landowners, others are concerned about the impact on the environment and public safety, and point to the impact of fracking already seen in states where it is currently allowed. Environmental groups say there is no regulation or infrastructure in North Carolina to help guide the process.

Randy Voller is the mayor of Pittsboro, where local people voted to oppose fracking until more is known about it. He says the decision on whether to allow fracking should be left at the local level and not made by lawmakers in Raleigh.

"The problem with that is that, when you're dealing with issues like this, a small number of lobbyists representing a narrow group of industries can have an outsized impact."

Because North Carolina has no existing pipeline to transport the natural gas, it's expected that it would be transported via the state's interstate highway system, prompting even more concern about the impact on local communities' safety and their infrastructure. There are reports in other states of fracking affecting the groundwater supply and air quality.

A report released last week by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources brought up several concerns about fracking specific to North Carolina, but Molly Diggins, State Director of the North Carolina Sierra Club, said the conclusion from the report stating that fracking could be done safely is misleading, since so much is still unknown about the technology.

"The conclusion that fracking can be done safely was not supported by the findings. The findings raised even more questions."

Those questions Diggins refers to include an inability to dispose of wastewater because of the geography of the state and the fact the state has no existing regulations to protect land or residents.

More information on hearings can be found at tinyurl.com/4376r26.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021