Council Acts on Fracking Recommendations

Kent City Council took several actions Wednesday on fracking after hearing recommendations from the Kent Sustainability Commission on the issue earlier this month.

Councilwoman Heidi Shaffer made four recommendations, all of which were approved, regarding the potential for hydraulic fracturing in Kent.

The actions council took Wednesday, none of which posed serious or immediate changes, were:

• To accept, and not formally adopt, the commission's recommendations
• For city administrators to present publicly to council what safeguards are already in place to protect the city's water supply and infrastructure from potential negative side effects related to fracking operations
• To direct the sustainability committee to monitor Ohio Department of Natural Resources reports on fracking permits and notify council if any wells are permitted in or near Kent
• And to direct city staff to work with officials at Kent State University to draft a join policy that would prohibit fracking on city and university land

"I would like them to continue monitoring and apprise us if there is something we need alerted to," Shaffer said of the third action.

Dan Schweitzer, chairperson of the Kent Sustainability Commission, told council earlier this month that it's unlikely that Kent will see fracking operations on the scale of other communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

RELATED COVERAGE:

• State: Kent State Controls Fracking on University Land
• POLL: Fracking on Kent State Campuses
• Fracking Opponents Urge City Council to Act