By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun
8:23 p.m. EST, March 6, 2012
A study of how or whether to allow a controversial drilling method for extracting natural gas in Western Maryland cannot be finished without funding, state officials told lawmakers Tuesday.
O’Malley administration officials joined environmentalists in supporting a bill that would pay for their year-old study of hydraulic fracturing by levying a fee on the estimated 150,000 acres leased for gas exploration in Garrett and Allegany counties. Business and oil industry representatives opposed the fee, arguing that it could dampen prospects for drilling to boost the economically depressed region.
The bill, heard by the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, would raise about $3 million over the next two years by charging gas companies $10 per acre on leased land. Officials said they need perhaps $2 million to finish their study of potential problems and safeguards. Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” involves extracting natural gas by pumping large quantities of water mixed with sand and chemicals to fracture or break up fuel-containing shale layers deep underground.
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