To the Editor:

As we face a drought, Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, not only vigorously supports fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in North Carolina, she instructs her aides to give callers a speech about the safety and benefits of fracking when they call her office. I called on another matter, and was told about how great fracking would be. Presnell voted yes for SB 786, to fast-track fracking, a bill which also extended big government, pre-empting local ordinances that would let communities make critical decisions about water. 

Fracking isn’t safe. Operations in other states have contaminated groundwater, according to findings from Duke University, and have also caused adverse health impacts. Water is vital to our national security and to our lives. Rep. Presnell is ready to jeopardize our water through fracking, actively opening the way for out of state companies to drill for export. Like Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, she pushed legislation without adequate time for study, and without requiring companies to disclose chemicals used in fracking operations — putting fire department and first responder volunteers at risk. The industry’s own estimates show that fracking would create only about 400 jobs in North Carolina.

Rep. Presnell’s irresponsible choices regarding fracking put drinking water at risk. She is up for election this fall, and it’s time to ask her to step down at the voting booth.

Autumn Woodward

Canton