A fracking site in New Milford,
Pennsylvania. CREDIT:
AP Photo/Richard Drew
Think Progress
By Samantha Page
February, 3, 2017
Maryland’s moratorium on fracking
has nearly expired, but lawmakers are seeking to make it permanent.
No one is fracking in Maryland right now — and lawmakers there just introduced a bill to ensure
the practice is permanently banned.
With 23 co-sponsors, the fracking ban introduced this
week already has the support of nearly half of the state senate. An assembly
version of the bill is expected to be introduced next week.
Lawmakers are rushing to enact a ban before a two-year
moratorium expires in May. The 2015 moratorium was intended give state
officials a chance to study the potential impact and draft regulations for
fracking, which uses large volumes of chemical- and sand-laced water, injected
at high pressures, to break up underground rock formations and release deposits
of natural gas or oil.
Those regulations have not materialized, and opponents
of the practice aren’t waiting. Fracking has been tied to a number of negative
health outcomes, including increased rates of asthma and other respiratory
illnesses. Fracking has also been tied to elevated levels of benzene and other
carcinogens in the water supply.
Maryland does have natural gas resources. Northwestern
Maryland is part of the Marcellus Shale region, which is the largest reservoir
of natural gas in the country. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have all
seen an explosion in natural gas extraction in recent years — along with the health and environmental concerns it
brings.
Prince George’s County, near Washington, D.C., also
sits on a natural gas reservoir. Officials there passed a county-wide ban on
fracking last April, after a massive push from voters…..
To access the complete news,
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario