Category:garrett county

Bill would mandate 8-year moratorium on fracking

ANNAPOLIS — Environmentally stringent and costly drilling regulations are not enough to protect the public’s health from hydraulic fracturing’s pollutants, according to a coalition of legislators, environmental groups and health professionals who rallied Thursday in support of a moratorium bill.

Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo, D-Montgomery, is sponsoring the Protect Our Health and Communities Bill that would delay hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in Western Maryland for the next eight years in order to provide more time to investigate health and environmental ramifications.

At the end of his term, former Gov. Martin O’Malley established costly permit regulations to drill for natural gas in Maryland that reflected a December analysis by the state’s environment and natural resources departments, said David Venko, chair of a commission charged with studying safe drilling in the state.

Hunting guides fined for baiting black bears in Garrett Co.

Two hunting guides who pleaded guilty to illegally baiting black bears in Garrett County were fined thousands of dollars and ordered to do 25 hours of community service on Thursday, prosecutors said.

Larry Eugene Harding, 57, of Friendsville, and Wallace A. Harward, 58, of Forest Hill, were ordered to pay $8,000 and $5,000, respectively, in fines and restitution for violating strict state black bear hunting regulations, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Undercover officers from the Maryland Natural Resources Police and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service posed as clients of the two hunting guides and discovered that they were illegally using bait to attract the bears for clients to shoot and violating regulations that require a sublicensee on black bear hunting permits to be in view of the licensee, prosecutors said.

Fracking opponents propose 8-year moratorium

…..Marcellus Shale is found underneath all of Garrett County and parts of Allegany County. A Towson University study finds that tapping into it could infuse billions into the local economy, providing farmers the opportunity to negotiate mineral rights to their property.

“That money stays in the counties, stays with the local people, enables farmers to buy new tractors, paint their barns, maintain the farm, keep the farm,” said Delegate Wendell Beitzel, R-Garrett County.

But interest in drilling is waning because state officials have been reluctant to give the green light. Health risks and environmental horror stories fueled the delay. Examples include stories of fracking causing flammable water and mini-earthquakes.

It's a Great Day to hit the Slopes!

Winter Wonderland

Have a great weekend!!

Someone shook the Snow Globe!
Snow Shoeing through our State Parks is a wonderful way to reconnect with Mother Nature! What are your plans this weekend? #deepcreeklake #skiwisp #winterwonderland

Happy Thursday from Deep Creek Lake!

Today’s sunrise was Breathtaking!

Happy Thursday from Deep Creek Lake! Today's sunrise was Breathtaking! "Like & Share" if you agree!

Groups call for legislative fracking ban

CUMBERLAND — A coalition of 79 organizations, including several local organizations, is calling for legislative action to ban hydraulic fracturing in Maryland.

“Based on what we know now, we believe that fracking endangers public health and is the wrong approach to building a robust Maryland economy and a clean energy future. We urge Maryland’s legislature to pass an extended moratorium in 2015,” the statement, released Jan.17, reads. The document was released by the Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility and Food & Water Watch.

At least one bill to ban the practice has been introduced in the Maryland General Assembly.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the method that would be used to free the gas and allow it to be brought to the surface. In order to get the gas trapped in the shale to the surface, chemicals, water and sand are pumped underground to break apart rock formations and free the gas.

Coalition members say the state isn’t up to regulating fracking.

Franchot: Petition backs post-Labor Day school start

Support in the form of 13,240 Marylanders’ signatures keeps the ball rolling on a push by Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) to get schools in Maryland to start after Labor Day.

School officials in Calvert County and elsewhere in the state say decisions on start times should remain local. In Calvert, the first day of school after the summer break this year would be Aug. 25 as things stand now.

The “Let Summer Be Summer” campaign picked up steam when a governor’s task force recommended in May 2014 that Maryland public schools delay opening until after Labor Day, while continuing to end classes in mid-June.

Garrett benefits from vacationers

A recent article by reporter Tim Wheeler about the issue of natural gas development in Garrett County contains a statement from a local Chamber of Commerce board member and farmer who has been a fairly vocal advocate for natural gas development (“Fracking debate intensifies in Western Maryland,” Jan. 17). His statement deserves a response.

Billy Bishoff is quoted in the article as saying “… as more land goes into vacation homes, it’s becoming harder to afford leasing land to raise crops.”

The number of new second home subdivisions in Garrett County in the past five years has been few to none. Almost all second home development in Garrett County over the past 30 years has occurred in and around Deep Creek Lake. Most of that new development occurred on non-farmed lands. The reality is that there is currently no market competition between farmland and developable second home land in Garrett County.

What a Great Picture!

Taken by our very own Preston! Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations's photo.

← 1 30 31 32 ... 73 →