Many Virginians support a ban on the controversial practice of hydrofracking in the George Washington National Forest.
Hydrofracking, more commonly known as just fracking, is a process of horizontally drilling for natural gas by pumping chemicals, sand and water to separate the gas from the rock.
The National Forest Service has been weighing whether or not to allow the practice in the George Washington National Forest as it weighs a new management plan for the land.
The Forest Service had a public comment period to solicit input and received 6,700 comments from Virginians.
The Shenandoah Valley Network and the Land, Air Water Stewardship Action Group analyzed the comments and say 70% of the comments support a ban on the drilling.
The Community Alliance for Preservation in Rockingham County also supports a ban on hydrofracking pointing to use of the national forest land for drinking water and recreation.
Executive Director Kim Sandum says "It's an inappropriate location. It's the source of our drinking water. It's the area where lots of recreation opportunities happen. Hunting, fishing, hiking. And those uses are incompatible with hydrofracking."
Sandum says she's not surprised by the number of Virginian's in opposition to fracking.
"It just shows how many people enjoy the National Forest and I'm not surprised that that many - I would think maybe even more - would be interested in having the ban because of the other uses that would be prohibited," Sandum said.
Of the nearly million acres that are in the George Washington National Forest, nearly half of them are on the Marcellus shale formation, which is a very large deposit of natural gas.
http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/Opposition_to_Fracking_in_Virginia__148675355.html