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Page added on April 14, 2015
Maryland Passes Fracking Ban
Today, the Maryland House of Delegates passed legislation, voting 102 – 34, that would prohibit fracking permits in the state until October 2017. The bill will head to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s desk in the coming days.
After months of campaigning, a bill that prohibits fracking for two and a half years passed overwhelmingly in the Maryland legislature. Photo credit: Don’t Frack Maryland
Earlier this week, the Maryland State Senate passed the legislation, voting 45-2, to prohibit fracking permits in the in the state. The governor’s position on the bill is unknown, but the Senate and House passed the bill with a veto-proof majority.
“After months of campaigning, a bill that prohibits fracking for two and a half years passed overwhelmingly in the Maryland legislature today,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “This is a testament to the growing movement to protect our communities from the dangers of fracking. Conventional wisdom in the state was that we could never get a moratorium passed in Maryland, just as we were also told we could never get a ban in New York. But naysaying just inspired us all to work harder in bringing the voice of the people to Annapolis in this grassroots initiative. Now it is time for Governor Hogan to heed the call of the people and sign the bill that gives Marylanders more time to examine the impacts of fracking.”
Business owners in Western Maryland have expressed concern that fracking would greatly impact the booming tourism industry in that part of the state. More than 100 Western Maryland business owners signed a letter to the leadership of the General Assembly in support of the fracking moratorium.
“Maryland’s more sustainable businesses, like farming, tourism and restaurants would be devastated by fracking,” said Eric Robison, owner of Eagle Rock Construction, LLC and president of Save Western Maryland. “We don’t need a short term boom and bust economy, we need to maintain a strong economic foundation for future generations.”
Don’t Frack Maryland has sent more than 25,000 messages supporting a moratorium. Letters signed by more than 100 health professionals, and more than 50 restaurant owners, chefs, winemakers and farmers from across the state have also been delivered to the General Assembly. And last night, the Friendsville Town Council, whose city is the center of a thriving white-water rafting industry in the state, sent a letter supporting a moratorium to President Miller, urging him to encourage a vote in the Senate.
Earlier this week, actor and Maryland native Edward Norton lent his support to the Maryland fracking moratorium in a radio ad. The ad, paid for by Food & Water Watch, features Norton speaking out about how fracking could harm Maryland’s environment and public health, as well as tourism in the state.
Polling has also shown that a clear majority of Marylanders oppose fracking and support action from the General Assembly to prevent drilling in the state.
“This moratorium will give legislators more time to evaluate the public health, economic and societal dangers of fracking, and give our communities statutory protections against drilling in the meantime,” said Dr. Ann Bristow, a commissioner on Governor O’Malley’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, on behalf of the Don’t Frack Maryland campaign.
According to Food & Water Watch, more than 425 peer-reviewed scientific studies on the effects of shale gas development now exist, and 75 percent of those have been published since January 2013. Of the 49 studies that investigated the health effects of fracking, 47—more than 96 percent—found risks or adverse health outcomes.
19 Comments on "Maryland Passes Fracking Ban"
buddavis on Tue, 14th Apr 2015 9:35 am
Of all the problems Maryland has, I can’t imagine Oil and Gas exploration and how that is regulated is one of them.
rockman on Tue, 14th Apr 2015 3:30 pm
I take it the folks in Maryland aren’t opposed to frac’ng in PA or any other state as long as some of the production reaches them.
Makati1 on Tue, 14th Apr 2015 7:14 pm
I suspect that fraking is pretty much over for any country/state for more reasons than safety. It may never be profitable again on any scale that matters. Especially if the financial situation prevents borrowing huge sums on ‘reserves’.
Capitalism, in it’s current form, is dying and many risky gambles will die with it. We seem to have reached peak debt in the West. Many things will change on the way down.
Apneaman on Tue, 14th Apr 2015 7:25 pm
rockman, maybe those Marylander’s drove through Texas and decided it’s not a good idea to shit where you eat.
Nony on Tue, 14th Apr 2015 7:52 pm
hippy liberals who would shit a brick if they had to fight for their country.
Apneaman on Tue, 14th Apr 2015 8:52 pm
Like millionaire atheist Pat Tillman or retard, but still a fighting veteran, John Kerry? Do you gots any data supporting your theory that left leaning Americans are any less likely to defend their country. BTW, with the exception of Afghanistan none the fighting since WWII can be classified as defense.
Makati1 on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 12:52 am
Apneaman, any country that cannot reach the continental Us, militarily, is not a threat to the Us Citizen. It may be a threat to the 1% and their wealth, but, hey, let their kids fight and die for their inheritance, not mine.
rockman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 7:04 am
A – “rockman, maybe those Marylander’s drove through Texas and decided it’s not a good idea to shit where you eat.”. OK buddy…time to put up or shut up: list some DOCUMENTED cases were frac’ng has caused any meaningful degradation to anyone’s life in Texas. It’s easy to take potshots when you don’t put up facts to support it.
Everyone is waiting to see you links.
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 8:45 am
Texas Town at Center of Latest Earthquake Swarm Questions Fracking Impact
“Residents want to know what is causing the quakes, the likelihood they may increase in size and if anything can be done to stop them. A public meeting held January 21 by city officials to address the earthquakes and other issues overflowed the 250-person capacity of the Irving Arts Center.
“Everywhere they’re fracking they have earthquakes,” someone in the audience yelled out, according to the Dallas Morning News.”
http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/01/27/texas-town-center-latest-earthquake-swarm-questions-fracking-impact
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 8:54 am
Natural gas production contaminated drinking water in Texas, study finds
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-gas-wells-drinking-water-contamination-20140915-story.html
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:06 am
‘Monster’ Fracking Wells Guzzled 3.3 Billion Gallons Of Water In Drought-Stricken Areas, Environmental Report Finds
http://www.ibtimes.com/monster-fracking-wells-guzzled-33-billion-gallons-water-drought-stricken-areas-1725561
U.S. Drought Monitor
Texas
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?TX
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:08 am
Fracking criticism spreads, even in Alberta and Texas
Canadian, U.S. studies raise concerns that chemicals used in process make people sick
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fracking-criticism-spreads-even-in-alberta-and-texas-1.3002287
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:14 am
Land of the free? Not if you get in the way of the big money oil boys. Don’t want them in your town. Too fucking bad. They just rewrite the legislation and take away any autonomy. All so the rockman&co can have their way. This is what they do when the propaganda machine fails to convince the sheep that it’s a good deal.
Texas House set to vote on bill blocking local fracking bans
http://www.cbs19.tv/story/28803908/texas-house-set-to-vote-on-bill-blocking-local-fracking-bans
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:20 am
Fracking the Eagle Ford Shale: Big Oil & Bad Air on the Texas Prairie
http://insideclimatenews.org/fracking-eagle-ford-shale-big-oil-bad-air-texas-prairie
Seems like there is no shortage of folks in Texas who are not all that keen of fracking. rockman don’t care – he still getting paid.
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:23 am
WATCH: Nebraska Man Asks Oil Commission Just One Question: ‘Would You Drink It?’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/28/nebraska-fracking-fluid-would-you-drink-it-video_n_6961976.html?utm_hp_ref=fracking
Would you drink it rockman – put your mouth where the money is?
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:43 am
Shitting where you eat. Anyone interested just do a google image search
“Texas fracking”
Looks like a fucking sifi dystopian waste land. Everyone of those well casings will fail at some point – many already have. Modern concrete only lasts about a hundred years at best. This is another part of the legacy for future generations (if they survive)that they don’t want to talk about either. Hey, I got mine today – fuck the Grand kids.
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 9:48 am
We will never know how many people have been harmed and how much land has been ruined because the oil weasels settle many claims out of court on condition of a gag order. This is the way all big industries operate – it’s part of the PR budget.
Children given lifelong ban on talking about fracking
Two Pennsylvanian children will live their lives under a gag order imposed under a $750,000 settlement
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/05/children-ban-talking-about-fracking
Apneaman on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 10:38 am
I could go on all day but why bother rockman? Most here know this stuff and are aware that you are just arguing with yourself – cognitive dissonance – because you need to justify how you make your money and just as importantly your status. I understand because I have heard all of it before I retired from Boiler Making. I used to talk some of it myself and I’m originally from Alberta, so I am very familiar with the all the lies we tell ourselves. When I was working up in Fort McMurry in the 1990’s we used to drink beer and tell ourselves that we were just doing this until the transition to cleaner alternative energies happened a few decades. Not a lot of climate denial then. Go to Alberta today and it’s conspiracy central. I even saw a “it’s not you, it’s not CO2 – it’s the Sun” Billboard in Calgary last summer. I do not expect anything to change, but if you continue to justify the energy industries with your lame claims and minimize climate change here I will call you on it. We may never have stopped burning everything we could get our hands on. I tend to think that we would keep pretending that alternative can replace liquid fuels and say we just need more time. The thing is, we will never know because of the billions and billions of dollars spent every year by the oil industry (you know this) to block any and all attempts to try. When the very thing one has devoted their entire life too is going to cause suffering on a never seen before scale it must be some heavy duty cognitive dissonance. It’s one of the the reason I got out. Look at the tar sands nightmare – part of that is on me along with a bunch of other heavy polluting life destroying industry. I can tell you from personal experience that if you walk away and reject the insanity of our society – they will reject you back. I’m not an environmentalist – never been to a meeting or a march – I just question things and people don’t like it at all. Were all responsible to some degree, but let us not forget proportion, greed and denial when the big suffering starts and we do that all to human thing of trying to pin it on someone else.
Nony on Wed, 15th Apr 2015 4:44 pm
There are plenty of rural landowners with frackpads who still use their well water. and cash their checks…