From BOLD Nebraska and the Sierra Club’s Nebraska Chapter:
The Nebraska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission is attempting to silence the voices of concerned citizens, farmers and ranchers by strictly limiting who can testify at Tuesday’s public hearing on a proposed toxic fracking wastewater disposal well in Sioux County, Nebraska — exported pollution that would forever endanger the Ogallala aquifer we all depend on.
One of the three members of the Commission, Tom Oliver, recently told the Scottsbluff Star-Herald: “It’s not just a public meeting where people can get up and give comments,” adding that only those who “own property within a half mile” of the proposed well will be able to testify.
This is unacceptable. Local citizens whose primary roads would be overwhelmed by 80 tanker truckloads of toxic wastewater delivered every day deserve to be heard. Nebraskans who don’t want to see our state and the Ogallala aquifer become a dumping ground for out-of-state toxic pollution deserve to be heard. Whether we’re allowed to testify or not, we’ll be at the hearing on Tuesday, March 24, in Sidney. Stand with us!