Local, state and national environmental activists joined together last week for a series of protests against the construction of an export facility for natural gas obtained through fracking in Maryland.

If completed, the Cove Point natural gas liquification plant and export terminal would become the first operational facility of its kind on the U.S. East Coast.

The project, overseen by Dominion Resources, was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in September. It is seen as controversial because it represents what opponents call “rubberstamping” of fracking projects and could lead to increased fracking as companies attempt to keep up with foreign demand.

“The natural gas industry is proposing a dangerous and costly detour from our region’s clean energy future: They want to build a web of fracking wells, pipelines and processing facilities across our region in order to liquefy fracked natural gas and export it to overseas markets in Asia,” reads a statement put out by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, which opposes expansion of Cove Point facilities. “The development of Cove Point … is a linchpin in this plan.”

There were three days of demonstrations, during which nine participants were arrested.

Fracking Controversies

Supporters of fracking, a process that involves cracking open rock formations in order to harvest gas and oil, say it is a safe method that can lessen the United States’s dependence on foreign fuel sources.

But longtime activist Steven Norris, 71, told Free Speech Radio News on Dec. 4 that an export terminal at Cove Point would subject the region to further incursions by fracking companies even though the area has already seen negative effects from the process. Norris is one of the protesters who were arrested last week.

Environmentalists worry that fracking contaminates drinking groundwater and increases the likelihood of earthquakes. Norris also said that increased fracking would result in both air and marine pollution, including in the Chesapeake Bay, which is an important wildlife habitat.

But critics of fracking argue that it places not only the environment, but also people, at risk.

Injuries and deaths have plagued the fracking industry; just last month, a worker was killed and two others were injured when a pipe ruptured on a Colorado fracking site. The rate of wrongful death lawsuits alone have gone up 260% in the United States since 1994, and is expected to keep rising.

Norris was also concerned about the explosive potential of fracking sites and what it would mean for nearby residents. “The risks of explosion are fairly low,” he said. “But the consequences of an explosion could be catastrophic for people who live in the area.”