Activists rally outside Maryland’s
State House for a fracking ban on March 2. (Brian
Witte/AP)
The Washington Post
By Josh Hicks
March 10, 2017
Maryland’s House of Delegates on Friday passed
legislation to ban hydraulic fracturing in the state, but a major hurdle
remains in the Senate, where a key lawmaker has resisted efforts to permanently
prohibit the controversial gas-extraction method.
The bill passed the Democratic-majority House 97 to
40, with eight Republicans supporting it.
Sen. Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore), who chairs the
Senate committee in charge of reviewing the proposal, has said she sees little
sense in trying to move the measure to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk
unless both legislative chambers can approve it with veto-proof majorities, the
Baltimore Sun reported Friday.
Hogan has said he supports hydraulic fracturing as
long as the state implements strict safeguards for the practice, commonly known
as fracking.
The 141-member House needs 85 votes to override a veto
from the governor, while the 47-member Senate needs 29 votes for such action.
Anti-fracking advocates say they are a few votes short of that number in the Senate.
“If Joan Carter Conway declared today that she too
supports a ban, then it’s going to go to Hogan’s desk, because not only will we
have her vote, but several people have said they’ll support it if she does,”
said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemicals
deep underground to break up rock and release oil or natural gas.
A two-year moratorium on the practice is in effect
until October. Conway has proposed a bill to extend the hold another two years
and require counties to hold referendums in 2018 on whether to allow the
extraction method.
Environmentalists want a permanent ban, saying no
regulations can eliminate fracking’s potential to cause water contamination,
air pollution and earthquakes, all of which have occurred to varying degrees in
states where fracking has become common in recent years.
“Science has spoken, and we should terminate this
practice here in Maryland,” said Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery), who heads
the House environmental committee.
Proponents of hydraulic fracturing say it can be done
safely and that the practice would bring jobs, economic benefits and new tax
revenue to Garrett and Allegany counties, where the activity is most likely to
occur.
Del. Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) said his county
needs the fracking industry. “We’re poor — we’re very, very poor,” he said. “A
chance for someone to get a thirty- or forty- or fifty- or
sixty-thousand-dollar-a-year job driving a truck might make a little bit of
difference in that.”….
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