KATV ran a short news item on the ADEQ hearing in Prairie County on Tuesday night.  However, if someone were watching the report I’m not sure they would really have any idea of what took place there or what the meeting was really about.  I asked for a copy of the story and was pretty appalled at the lack of substantial information contained therein.  Let’s go through the report one graph at a time:

A STORAGE FACILITY FOR NATURAL GAS DRILLING IN PRAIRIE COUNTY WAS THE SUBJECT OF A PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT.

I didn’t realize a facility could store natural gas drilling in Prairie County… Who knew? 

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY HELD THE MEETING TONIGHT IN DES ARC TO DISCUSS A PROPOSAL THAT WOULD ALLOW A NEW COMMERCIAL NATURAL GAS WELL STORAGE FACILITY TO BE BUILT IN THE AREA.

A natural gas well storage facility?  This just doesn’t make any sense.  The facility in question is a land-application site for drilling fluids, which may contain very harmful chemicals and have a negative impact on local wildlife, nearby streams or creeks, and ultimately drinking water.

PRAIRIE COUNTY LANDFARM HAS ASKED FOR THE PERMIT TO BUILD THE NEW FACILITY IN THE HICKORY PLAINS COMMUNITY.

There is no indication here that most of the citizens gathered at the meeting were opposed to the proposed permit.  The only people in attendance who were in favor of the permit were the owners of the site themselves. 

NO WORD WHEN A DECISION WILL BE MADE ON THE PROPOSAL.

The public comment period on the site was extended an extra 10 days, or until October 24th.  If any of you have comments about this particular site, send them to ADEQ by then. 

Pretty unbelievable.  Why write anything at all?

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