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$600 Million Fracking Company Sues Tiny Town For Its Water
Image source: Cleveland.com
The residents of a small Ohio town could lose their water supply if a federal lawsuit filed by a fracking company that has made hundreds of millions of dollars succeeds.
Gulfport Energy is trying to force Barnesville, Ohio, (population 4,100) to sell its water even though the village’s reservoir could be running drying.
Gulfport, which uses the water for fracking, sued when village officials shut off the water supply after the Slope Creek Reservoir started to run dry. Gulfport is a publicly traded company that reported revenues of $671.27 million on Dec. 31, 2014.
“We felt like we had to shut everyone off to protect the regular users,” Barnesville village solicitor (attorney) Marlin Harper told Think Progress. “We don’t have unlimited water.”
Harper contends that an agreement with the company gives Barnesville the right to shut Gulfport’s supply off when water levels run too low. Slope Creek Reservoir’s level was three feet below normal last fall when the water was shut off, and village officials wanted to have enough water for residents.
The reservoir supplies around 12,100 people in Southeastern Ohio with water, including 8,000 people outside the town.
Village Sued for Trying to Protect Water
The company says it has the right to the water.
Source: http://www.offthegridnews.com/current-events/600-million-fracking-company-sues-tiny-town-for-its-water/
