Walnut Cove's town council is reconsidering their earlier vote approving a fracking test in June. Their meeting on Tuesday was packed with residents also questioning the council's vote.
The core hole drilling is planned for a small piece of town property in the Walnut Tree community, a predominately black section of the county. Residents complained at the meeting about the location of the test, and about not being notified by local officials.
Also at issue is whether the council can stop the test. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, state law largely prohibits local governments from putting restrictions on this type of drilling. The town commissioners are studying the law to determine if this precludes them from stopping the drilling on town property.
State geologists suspect that a small amount of shale resources may exist in the Dan River Basin, which stretches mostly across Stokes and Rockingham counties. But those assumptions are based on old data. The new test will help them learn more.
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