Concerns about oil drilling to be aired at meeting in Saline tonight

By Cindy Heflin Associate news director

Posted on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 : 12:27 p.m.

Residents in the Saline area concerned about oil drilling in the area will have a chance to learn about the issue from people on all sides of it Wednesday night at Saline’s Liberty School.

The meeting, initiated by State Rep. Mark Ouimet, will include discussion of oil and gas drilling currently taking place in Washtenaw County as well as the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing.

Paxton Resources, which already has a few oil wells in Washtenaw County and has leased land for further exploration, has said it has no plans to do fracturing in Washtenaw County.

Besides Ouimet, those at the meeting will include Hal Fitch of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; James Clift, of the Michigan Environmental Council; Gregory J. Vadnais and Mark Bailey, of Paxton Resources; and Mitch Rohde, of the "No Paxton" protest group; interested residents. Lucy Ann Lance will moderate.

The meeting will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Liberty School gymnasium, 7265 Saline Ann Arbor Road.

Tags: oil