Environmental groups are gearing up for a battle over fracking. Late last week, the state Department of Natural Resources granted Kansas-based Woolsey Companies a permit to begin fracking at a site in White County despite cries from environmental groups that the plan was faulty. They’re taking the agency to task, saying demanding so little transparency in the permitting process is a gift to potential polluters. Don Carlson with Illinois People’s Action says fracking endangers drinking water, increases heavy truck traffic and sets a terrible precedent because Illinois should be expanding solar and wind energy instead.
Fracking is the process of injecting chemicals deep into the ground to force natural gas out. Pennsylvania and Oklahoma are seeing negative impacts as a result of the process, including an increase in the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma that critics say are linked to the process.