Citizens to gather in Guthrie to discuss earthquakes, fracking

Oklahoma and Kansas Sierra Club chapters call on concerned citizens to join them in Guthrie on September 3 to discuss the ongoing threat of earthquakes plaguing our region, and to examine the practice of fracking which utilizes underground injection wells to dispose of its waste and by-products.

The public meeting will be held inside the First United Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall located at 102 E. Noble Avenue.

At 6 p.m. a film screening “Groundswell Rising” will begin the event followed by a discussion with Dr. Todd Halihan, Professor of Hydrogeology, Oklahoma State University and a public discussion afterwards is set for 8 p.m.

Both Kansas and Oklahoma governments have now acknowledged that the use of underground injection wells can be linked to the plague of earthquakes facing both states, and Sierra Club is offering free meetings to discuss earthquake preparedness, the causes behind the earthquakes, and what citizens can do to address this dangerous and distressing issue.

“At a time when residents and business owners of Kansas and Oklahoma are left with thousands of dollars of damage caused by the swarms of earthquakes in our two states, we need our local and state governments to intervene and act immediately in developing and enforcing much stronger rules and regulations for the oil and gas industry when conducting hydraulic fracturing and using injection wells,” Oklahoma Sierra Club Chair Barbara Vanhanken and the Kansas Sierra Club Chair Yvonne Cather explained.

“We feel the responses by our respective corporation commissions have been too slow, and right now the oil and gas industry continues ‘business as usual’ with drilling for oil and gas close to water sources and habitations. The earthquakes continue as disposal of their waste from hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas production continues virtually unabated.”

The purpose of the upcoming meeting in Guthrie is to raise awareness of the entire set of practices used in hydraulic fracturing and what other concerned and affected citizens around the U.S. have done to fight such flagrant practices. They will also discuss why Sierra Club believes a moratorium is needed in the 21 counties labeled by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission as a “defined area of interest.”