This short documentary, “Battle for Wetzel County,” chronicles the impacts of the gas fracking rush in West Virginia, focusing on the damages caused by Chesapeake Energy’s drilling activity in the mountains of this rural county.
The film features interviews with Wetzel County residents, including Marty Whiteman and his daughter Sarah Wood – family farmers who explain how surface owners like them are powerless to stop Chesapeake Energy from drilling because they don’t own the minerals beneath their properties.
Whiteman has sued Chesapeake Energy, claiming the drilling activities pose a direct threat to their livelihood. But he knows that the company could still destroy his ability to farm forever, thanks in large part to lax state oversight of the industry.
The film also contains footage from a public hearing in Morgantown, WV where angry residents share their concerns about fracking. One man fights back tears as he shows a photo of a fracking tanker truck dumping contaminated post-drilling wastewater on a road that schoolchildren walk on every day. “This industry is out of control in the state of West Virginia. I say we pass a moratorium now,” he says to loud applause from the audience.
Julia Archer of West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Association talks about the effort to get lawmakers to support a Surface Owners’ Bill of Rights, seeking a rigorous review of the rules and disclosure of impacts from fracking and other subsurface activities.
“Battle for Wetzel County’ is the third installment of an 8-park documentary series called Journey On Earth, produced by SnagFilms in association with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Watch it below:
