Augusta first county in Va. to ban fracking
VERONA - The Augusta County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday night to prohibit fracking in the county in a move to keep clean water flowing in the area.
Augusta is the first county in the commonwealth to pass a zoning ordinance that completely prohibits fracking on its lands. King George County passed restrictions on fracking in August 2016, but that ordinance is not a total prohibition.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as "fracking," is "the process of using pressurized liquids, gases and/or sand to create artificial fractures in subsurface reservoirs where hydrocarbons are locked in shale, coal or other impermeable rock formations, for purpose of extracting gas or oil," as defined in the zoning ordinance the county passed.
The board voted six to one to pass the ordinance after a public hearing in which several county citizens voiced impassioned pleas for the board to enact the ban. Many of the 35 or so people at the meeting stood up and cheered the board's decision.
"Thanks for stepping up to the plate and helping out mother nature," said Nancy Sorrells, co-chair of the Augusta County Alliance in addressing the board. "And, although I doubt you are going to get a flood of 'thank-yous' from Richmond and Washington, they should also thank you every time they turn on their tap and enjoy their fresh, pure Augusta County water!"
Localities are permitted the authority to prohibit fracking under the Virginia Gas and Oil Act and though Augusta is the first county in Virginia to pass an ordinance of this nature, counties in other states across the country have barred this drilling method, said Kristin Davis, a staff attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center who does a lot of work on fracking issues.
Although the new Augusta County ordinance does not prohibit traditional methods of gas drilling, just drilling by the fracking method, it still goes a long way in the protection of drinking water and the headwaters in the county, Davis said.
"Both fracking itself and industrial gas development generally pose risks to drinking water," she said. "Those risks are documented and real."