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.

This bill is being heard in the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee on February 26th and we'd love your support! We're gathering in Annapolis on Tuesday, February 26th at 11:30am on Lawyer's Mall in front of the State house to show our support. If you are interested in attending, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Take action here!

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.

Take action here!

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.
This legislation will:

• Impose a moratorium on fracking in the state of Maryland
• Requires the moratorium to stay in place until three separate criteria have each been met: the studies listed in the Governor's 2011 executive order must be completed and presented to the appropriate committees in the General Assembly; 18 months must have passed since the completion of the studies to give the General Assembly appropriate time to consider the results of the studies; the Maryland Department of the Environment must adopt regulations that implement the recommendations of the studies from the Governor's executive order
• Provide guidance to the state agencies charged with conducting the studies to render their judgment on how much risk is posed by fracking activity based on the results of the studies
• Allow the General Assembly to make an informed decision about whether or not to allow fracking in the state of Maryland

For more information, please contact:

Erik DuMont, Chesapeake Climate Action Network /   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / 240-396-1985