

| Marcellus Shale - Hydraulic Fracturing |
|
|
|
|
Fracking is a dangerous drilling method used to extract natural gas from shale rock. Around the country, natural gas fracking has attracted widespread attention as surrounding communities have been subjected to drinking and ground water contamination, climate pollution, and land scarring. In Ohio, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, the injection of wastewater from the fracking process caused tremors and earthquakes. Due to the threat of these consequences in Maryland, it is imperative that the General Assembly place a moratorium on fracking until careful, independent analyses are completed to determine whether the risky drilling practice makes sense for Maryland.
Environmental Challenge
Gas drilling activity related to hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - has been directly linked to a whole host of harmful effects including contaminated streams and rivers, flammable tap water, forest fragmentation, and poor air quality. Underground re-injection of fracking wastewater, meanwhile, is strongly suspected to be the cause of a large increase in earthquakes across the central United States, including in nearby Ohio. Fracking also contributes to climate change through the documented release of methane gas in the drilling process and from emissions of planet-warming gases upon combustion. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley issued an executive order in 2011 establishing a special commission to determine if and how fracking activity could be conducted safely in the state. But the commission does not have the dedicated funding it needs to underwrite a range of measurements, analyses, and reports required to protect natural and human communities. Bill Framework
While some have characterized the 2011 O'Malley executive order as a de facto moratorium, the reality is that there are few real legal protections in place to prevent issuing a fracking permit if challenged by the oil and gas industries and it's time for the policy of the state of Maryland to be clarified in the law: no studies, no fracking. Impose a moratorium on fracking in the state of Maryland
Update on the bill: the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs committee voted narrowly 6-5 against the Maryland Hydraulic Fracturing and Right to Know Act of 2013. To see how the Senators voted, click here. However, this is not the end of the movement. If we're going to win a moratorium on fracking for natural gas in Maryland next year, one thing is certain: we need you. To come out on top, we need to take our statewide grassroots movement straight to the doorsteps of legislators in Annapolis. We need you to maintain the momentum and join us in Annapolis this Wednesday: RSVP: Join the biggest fracking rally Annapolis has ever seen on March 13th. For more information, please contact: Erik DuMont, Chesapeake Climate Action Network / / 240-396-1985 |