By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
ACTIVISTS are proceeding with plans to declare Moriac a “fracking-free zone” despite a miner with an exploration permit declaring it has lost interest in the area.
Moriac’s Damien Marchant said a new Frack Free Moriac group would doorknock residents to garner support for the declaration.
Mr Marchant said the group would “take to the streets to inform the community about the threat of potential unconventional gas or coal projects in the area”.
The Independent revealed in June that Lakes Oil had conducted geological and geophysical studies in its PEP 163 permit area, sretching from the outskirts of Geelong to Anglesea.
Mr Marchant said Frack Free Moriac formed after a recent public meeting of 100 people.
“In line with actions undertaken by other communities under similar licenses, the group is planning to conduct a door-to-door survey of all households in the area to see if residents want to declare Moriac and surrounds coal and gas-field free.”
Mr Marchant said the survey would cover land-owners in Moriac, Modewarre, Paraparap, Gherang, Mt Moriac and Buckley.
“Many community members have serious concerns about fracking and exploration projects taking place in the area.
“We have seen the impacts that unconventional gas mining has had on other communities and after learning about the associated risks at the public meeting. We think it is vital that all residents are informed on the issue.
“There has already been one exploration well drilled in the area and Moriac has been named as an area of interest by the gas companies.
“We need to decide as a community if we are going to let this highly risky industry go any further in our backyard.”
Lakes Oil told the Independent last month it had no intention of fracking in the region.
But last week chairman Robert Annells said declaring a frack-free zone set a “dangerous precedent”.
“These things become trendy and there may be an area elsewhere that is influenced by these frack-free zones and I don’t think we should be making those sorts of decisions.
“There are areas considerably west of Moriac that are suitable for fracking and every area should be looked at on geological merits rather than emotively.”
