CHARLEVOIX, Mich. — The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan will have volunteers collecting petition signatures starting Friday to stop the process of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, in the state.
Fracking involves injecting chemicals into sediment and rock to extract natural resources, and, according to the campaign director, it pollutes the land, water and air.
This year, the committee changed its petition from a constitutional amendment to a legislative proposal, which would amend the state statute rather than the state constitution.
According to the committee, in Michigan’s lower peninsula, Crawford, Ogemaw, and Roscommon counties are already impacted by fracking, and areas including Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Oakland County could possibly be impacted.
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says that fracking is not responsible for environmental damage in Michigan. In addition, the DEQ says state regulators have been studying the process for 50 years, and that it does not support stopping activity that has gone on regularly without serious incidents.
The signatures will be collected over a six month period in order to qualify for the 2014 ballot.
