About forty local residents have joined the Southeast Ohio Fracking Interest Group (SEOFIG) since its creation in 2011.

Member Betsy Cook tells WMOA their group wants a positive economic experience with the impending hydraulic fracturing drilling for oil and natural gas, that maintains safety for the people and environment.

Cook says they’re holding a meeting the last Tuesday of January which will serve as a planning session for SEOFIG’s goals in 2013. “We’re getting a lot of injection wells here in Washington County and a few more have been permitted, so we want to decide where to focus our attention,” Cook explains.

Betsy Cook invites anyone with an interest in hydraulic fracturing drilling, not a particular viewpoint.

 “We want those who work in the oil and gas industry, those who support it or are on the fence, and those against it,” says Cook, “We would love people from all sides of the issue. We’re trying to form a group to address issues, educate people, and work together to make this hydraulic fracturing boom something we can all live with.”

The Southeast Ohio Fracking Interest Group’s meeting takes place Tuesday, January 29 at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Church at the corner of Third and Putnam streets.