Richard Moncure Talks about Fracking and the Rappahannock

Rappahannock Indivisible We the People

Fracking Hydraulic Fracturing, or Fracking, is a drilling technique used to extract oil or natural gas. Fracking has contaminated drinking water sources, made residents sick, turned pristine landscapes into industrial zones and caused air and global warming pollution.Property values and other impacts have negatively affected communities near fracking sites.

A nonprofit, American Rivers, has ranked the Rappahannock River at No. 5 on its 2017 list of America’s most endangered rivers. They say the Rappahannock is in imminent danger. Local governments need to pass land use ordinances to protect the river. Industry sources say otherwise. Should we be concerned? Northern Neck citizens are encouraged to attend a briefing on Fracking at the next meeting of Rappahannock Indivisible We the People on June 21st.

Richard Moncure, Tidal Rappahannock River Steward, will speak on this issue at 7pm at 366 James Wharf Road in White Stone. He has served as the Tidal Rappahannock River Steward since Jan 12, 2011. Richard's role as Tidal River Steward will expand Friends of the Rappahannock’s (FOR’s} mission downstream to the Chesapeake Bay. He is currently involved in community education and advocacy relating to the Taylorsville Basin Fracking issue, and he is leading a number of restoration projects relating to living shorelines and oyster reefs.

Richard has spent a lifetime on the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. The former owner of the Seafood Market at The Happy Clam and as a licensed waterman understands the value of the Rappahannock River from "fisherman to fork", and beyond. Now living in Simonsons with his family of water people, Richard keeps a close eye on the Rappahannock and its fishing industry. He is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School and Hampden-Sydney College. After college, Richard completed his service in Peace Corps Zambia, working on rural aquaculture projects before returning home to join his family in the seafood business. Richard is based out of FOR's Tidal Rappahannock Office located at June Parker Marina in Tappahannock, Virginia.