Activists in the western Massachusetts town of Pelham hope to make it the first municipality in the state to ban fracking.
A group of Pelham residents will ask the town’s Conservation Commission later this month to add by-laws that would ban the controversial natural gas drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing, and also ban fracking waste products from the town. One of the activists, Michael Hussin hopes this will put momentum behind a bill in the Massachusetts House to impose a 10-year statewide moratorium on fracking.
" We thought one of the best ways to move that along is to take local action to hopefully impress our legislators that we are serious -- that towns are taking this into their own hands."
The petroleum industry insists there is no commercial potential for natural gas drilling in Massachusetts.
