MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) - The Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources unanimously gave the green light to the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
“Fracking is the way to go. I’m convinced fracking is safe and good,” Elko County Commissioner Grant Gerber said, the newspaper reported Thursday.
The meeting took place in Elko, Nevada, where new regulations guiding fracking, required by a bill passed by the state legislature in 2013, were reviewed and approved four months ahead of schedule, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
“Water in this state should trump oil,” Gilman Springs resident Steve Fisher told the newspaper. “The plans here are not well thought out. In fact, it’s ridiculously careless,” he added.
Locals, environmentalists and farmers were all disappointed with the commission, claiming the decision was influenced by industry interests and by biased decision-makers. Critics were concerned that fracking operations would threaten precious groundwater supplies in a state seeing its third year of drought and argued that overall environmental costs were too high, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Noble Energy has already ran fracking operations 17 miles southeast of Elko last spring and is currently evaluating the potential for oil development in Elko County, according to Kevin Vorhaben, unit manager for the company, the newspaper reported, adding that Grant Canyon Oil and Gas is also allegedly fracking in Nevada, although details are currently unavailable.
