Woolsey Operating Company Pulls Fracking Permit - Food & Water Watch Celebrates and Pushes For Fracking Ban

Chicago, IL – We celebrate the decision from Woolsey Operating Company, LLC to withdraw its fracking proposal and its application for a wastewater injection well in Illinois. The decision to abandon these permits is a win for Illinois residents against the energy industry’s reckless plans to frack White County, Illinois. IDNR under Governor Rauner granted their permits to Woolsey Energy to frack in White County, Illinois. 

We now urge the Illinois legislature to push forward a fracking ban to solidify a safeguard against fracking in the state. Fracking activists have held multiple rallies across the country, submitted over 5,000 comments to IDNR and issued even more complaints about the fracking permit approval process. 

Meanwhile, evidence now suggests that the TrueFlo injection well which Woolsey planned to use to dispose of fracking waste, has contaminated nearby drinking water sources. Preliminary tests show that their water has been contaminated and two landowners near TrueFlo have complained of diminished water quality. A third landowner is also seeking tests. TrueFlo water contamination is just tip of the iceberg when it comes to fracking concerns, so the call for a fracking ban has never been louder. 

Background: 

The Kansas based Woolsey Operating Company received the state’s first horizontal fracking permit four years after former state governor Pat Quinn signed the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act into law. Without Woolsey pursuing a fracking endeavor in White County, there are no current fracking attempts in Illinois. However, there is a likely potential for energy companies, like Woolsey, to pursue future fracking permits, making a fracking ban crucial. 

Food & Water Watch, Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment, Illinois Green Party, Illinois People’s Action, and more organizations have submitted over 5,000 public comments opposing the permit.