University of Tennessee Wins Approval for Hydraulic Fracturing Plan

by Ollie Deese and Robbie Brown / The New York Times

Protesters in Nashville, where a state panel voted Friday to allow the University of Tennessee to lease land to a gas company.

NASHVILLE — The University of Tennessee faced protests here on Friday over its proposal to let a private company drill for natural gas across a forest controlled by the university.

Environmentalists say opening the Cumberland Forest in eastern Tennessee to hydraulic fracturing, a process known as “fracking,” could harm wildlife and scenery on the 8,000-acre tract of state-owned land.

But the university says it would create a rare, controlled environment in which experts could study the environmental impact of the controversial drilling technique, while also generating revenue to finance research.

University of Tennessee Proposes Fracking On its Own Land

from the AP

Photo provided by the University of Tennessee shows Wilson Mountain in the Cumberland Forest, a state-owned research area used by the University of Tennessee.

The University of Tennessee wants to allow hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas on a state-owned tract of rolling woodland, raising the hackles of environmentalists who question its stated goal of raising funds to research the environmental impact of such drilling.

With debate over “fracking” continuing, the unique proposal is being considered when many universities say they don’t have enough money to properly study the environmental implications of an increasingly popular and lucrative method for energy companies to remove gas or oil from rock formations by forcing liquids underground at high pressure.