Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Letter to the editor:

Fracking concerns go unanswered

To the Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources:

In January, my wife and I purchased a home in Gillman Springs, smack in the middle of Nevada. We fell in love with the people and scenery that make up this rural community in the foothills of the Big Smoky Valley.

We are alarmed with the applications for fracking near our new home in Lander County. I have talked with everyone involved in the approval process and remain unconvinced that my groundwater is not going to be affected. As you know, Nevada is the driest state. Contaminate the groundwater and my retirement years will be ruined.

Two issues that alarm me are:

1. The fluid that is used to frack. It seems convenient that I would not be able to test for it because its proprietary ingredients are only known to a few officials. This fluid never leaves the ground.

2. There is no plan B, no contingency plan for a spill or plan for containment after contamination. This seems to be a careless way to develop Nevada’s natural resources.

From my research on the subject, most of the people involved in the permitting process seem to be too closely aligned with the oil industry. I have also talked with people in many communities around that county who have suffered damage to their water supplies from fracking.

Commissioners, we all need to be caretakers for the state of Nevada. The risks of fracking to the water supply are too great. I urge you to make sure that Nevada’s long-term interests are protected by banning any future fracking activity.

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