‘Fracking’ the focus of 2012 Prairie Village Community Forum on Environmental Issues

Although an environmental forum on Hydraulic Fracturing may sound intimidating to some residents, a Thursday program at Village Presbyterian is intended for anyone interested in environmental issues and is not designed to be highly technical.

The 11th annual Community Forum on Kansas Environmental Issues will be held at the church October 4. It will begin with appetizers and exhibits at 5:30 p.m., supper catered by the Blue Bird Bistro at 6 p.m. and the program from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Friendship Hall. The Forum has been held at the church since 2003.

The conference title this year is “Just the Fracks: What is Hydraulic Fracturing?”  Committee member Deborah English says fracking has been used for some time in the Plains and the trend in Kansas now is in petroleum since natural gas prices are so low. “If done correctly, the risks should be low, but there is concern that there is a lack of funds for regulatory oversight.”

Fracking has drawn attention and controversy nationally because of some instances of groundwater contamination and earthquakes associated with the process.

The conference is sponsored by the Kansas Natural Resources Council and the Prairie Village Environmental/Recycling Committee. Speakers include Kansas State Senator Marci Francisco, Rex Buchanan of the Kansas Geological Survey, Paul Johnson of the Kansas Rural Center and Joe Soease of WindSoHy. James Joerke of the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will moderate.

Online registration is available at http://knrc.ws. Advance registration is necessary and a $20 donation is requested, $10 for students. Questions can be directed to Kathy Riordan at 913-383-7882 or kfriordan@kc.rr.com.