Tonight hundreds of Oklahomans gathered in the cold drizzle to voice their concerns about Pedestal Oil Co’s proposal to drill and frack up to six wells just near the South side of Lake Hefner, Oklahoma City’s primary drinking water source and popular public park. However, due to a very small venue being chosen the majority of citizens were not given the opportunity to come inside to hear the proposal and instead were forced to stand out in the cold rain. Protestors were left to stand and watch through the clear glass conservatory including seeing many empty seats in the back going unfilled. The rumor going around the protest was that Pedestal Oil Co. had reserved many seats for their own staff. To make matters worse many of those who managed to make it inside stated they could not even hear the proposal as no P.A. system was used. In short, Pedestal Oil Co. really fracked up this proposal. It is doubly concerning that they did not take proper action to be able to communicate with citizens and many believe their lack of concern for the public and poor planning is indicative of how they plan to operate the project if they get the go-ahead.

As the public meeting began inside protestors began yelling for the Pedestal Oil Co. representatives to come outside and share their proposal with everyone rather than the select few inside. Those calls went unanswered though protestors in the cold rain were informed that there would be a second meeting at 7:00pm if they were willing to hold out in the cold rain for an hour. Citizens that did make it inside asked many questions and commented on the seriousness of the situation. “You can’t drink oil and you can’t eat gas. We don’t have another place to go; we mess this one up, we’re through.” one man said.

Pedastal Oil stood by their stance that this operation is purely safe and there is no need to be concerned. “As far as all of the concerns about safety, modern well construction is so highly regulated by State and federal rules that the risks of contamination have nearly been eliminated,” Wayne Smith, an advisor for Pedestal Oil said.

What happens now?

“This would have to pass two bodies in order to become implemented. First, it would have to pass five votes on the Oklahoma City water utilities trust, and then it would have to pass the City Council,” Shadid says.

Take Action

The Utilities Department has made it possible to receive comments until December 22nd and questions via email at [email protected] or by regular mail at:

Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust

General Manager

420 West Main, suite 500

Oklahoma City, OK 73102

See more pictures & videos of the protest here.