ACTION ALERT Health Study Discussion
Researchers Seek Public Input in Writing
Community Meeting at Deep Creek Lake
On Saturday, October 5, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of Garrett College in McHenry, Maryland the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) will hold its second public meeting to receive input regarding the study of potential public health impacts associated with the possible development of the Marcellus Shale in Western Maryland.
DHMH is overseeing the study, which will be performed by the University of Maryland School of Public Health’s Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (UMIAEH). This is an extremely important part of the work of Maryland Governor O’Malley’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission (MSAC), which will decide whether or not drilling using fracking will be permitted in Maryland.
In preparation for the report, the UMIAEH project team is asking for a wide variety of stakeholders and interested parties from Maryland to share their questions, suggestions, comments, and concerns about the health impacts of gas development with the team.
Researchers are also asking for input from our neighbors in West Virginia and Pennsylvania who may have experienced health-related impacts during natural gas development.
Eric Robison, President of CitizenShale attended the first Health Study meeting in Frostburg this week. “I was very encouraged by the openness of the process. All in attendance were allowed to share information in a round table-like setting,” said Robison.
The UMIAEH is directed by Dr. Donald Milton, MD, DrPH, who will also lead the project. Dr. Milton is an internationally recognized expert in occupational and environmental medicine, and has extensive experience leading large collaborative research projects. The project team also includes experts in toxicology, public health, epidemiology, anthropology, and environmental justice.
The report is scheduled to be presented in its final version to the state in Summer, 2014. Your Input is Requested.
Write down and print questions, concerns, or experiences you’d like to share and submit them to researchers at the meeting. Please create a subject line that indicates the area(s) addressed. For example: water quality, air quality, community relations, traffic and roads, land and leasing, economic factors, etc.
If you are unable to attend the October 5 meeting, please submit your comments directly to the researchers:
Dr. Sacoby Wilson – swilson2@umd.edu
Laura Dalemarre – ldalemar@umd.edu
Thank you for participating, CitizenShale.org
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