Kent Environmental Rights Group Holds Meeting to Push Bill Forward

The Kent Environmental Rights Group spoke to the community Monday night
about the potential dangers of fracking and the effect it could have if it came to Kent.

Fracking is the term commonly used to refer to the hydraulic fracturing process used to extract natural gas from shale rock. Gwen Fischer, member of KERG and a professor Emerita at Hiram College gave a presentation Monday showing the effects the presence of injection wells has had on other cities in Ohio and around the country.

Fischer said she wants to protect the community and believes fracking could potentially have negative effects on the area. Lee Brooker, member of KERG called the results disastrous and said it would include lots of noise, traffic and the potential poisoning of our water.

“Even if it wouldn’t happen in Kent city limits, as a matter of principal, I want to be able to say you can’t do it unless we say you can,” Brooker said.

The meeting was held Monday night at Kent Free Public Library to support The Kent Community Bill of Rights which will appear on the November 4th ballot as issue 21. The bill was written after KERG contacted the Community Environmental Defense Fund who wrote an ordinance to petition the Kent City Council according to a document written by KERG.

KERG collected more than 1900 valid signatures of registered Kent voters this summer out of the 1700 needed to have the bill put on the ballot. The bill states that community members have certain rights including the right to clean air and pure water.

“I think it’s going to pass, I think the voters really want it,” said Bonny Graham, member of KERG. “I think there’s some concern because the strategy is a broad language strategy and so people get confused by that. Law says that you can’t say no to gas and oil directly, this is an attempt to get through with a different strategy.”

To learn more about KERG and the Community Bill of Rights visit www.kentenvironmentalrightsgroup.org.