BINGHAMTON, N.Y.—Hundreds of people are gathering outside a theater in Binghamton, N.Y., ahead of what is expected to be a pair of contentious public hearings on a federal study of a natural gas-drilling technique.
People opposed to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” have signs saying “Kids can’t drink gas,” while those supporting the method are chanting “Pass gas now!”
The Environmental Protection Agency is holding four-hour hearings at The Forum in Binghamton beginning at noon and again at 6 p.m. Two more sessions are scheduled for Wednesday.
The EPA is taking comment on how broadly to construct its study of fracking. The drilling technique involves blasting chemical-laced water into the ground to release natural gas from rock formations thousands of feet underground.
