Illinois Community Wages Debate over Fracking Center

EARLVILLE, Ill. (AP) – A small city in northern Illinois is at odds over a proposed transportation center to ship and store a central ingredient of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

Earlville City Council approved an international oil and gas company’s plan to build a multimillion-dollar facility for silica sand. The Chicago Tribune reports some community leaders, like the school district superintendent, support it because of potential economic benefits.

But the plan also has drawn plenty of opposition from residents who worry it would present a public health threat to the community. Mayor Mike Hall has assured residents that the center would be safe.

The owner of plastics molding business across from the facility’s proposed site has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the plan. A court hearing is scheduled for today.

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