Don’t rush to allow Marcellus shale drilling - opinion

Anonymous Cumberland Times-News The Cumberland Times-News Wed Feb 16, 2011, 08:00 AM EST

— Maryland lawmakers would do well to heed the advice of a former top Pennsylvania official to go slow in allowing drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale deposits in Western Maryland.

John Quigley, who until recently was secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, was in Annapolis last week to urge members of the House Environmental Matters Committee to “take a deep breath” when it comes to natural gas drilling.

His concern is that there is still much to learn about the environmental and social impacts such drilling may have. A method known as “fracking” involves injecting water and lubricating chemicals thousands of feet underground to fracture rock layers and release gas trapped there.

Even before Quigley made his visit to the capital, legislators expressed concerns. Delegate Wendell Beitzel of Garrett County is sponsoring a bill requiring the Maryland Department of Environment to submit regulations regarding natural gas exploration and production in Marcells shale by the end of the year.

Another measure by Montgomery County lawmakers would impose an outright ban of all drilling until a further study is done and new regulations are adopted.

The drilling is a topic of a session set Thursday at 7 p.,m. at the Allegany County Fairgrounds. The session is called “Natural Gas Drilling in Our Community” and is sponsored by the University of Maryland Extension and will be an opportunity for the public to learn more about the issue.

This go-slow approach in Maryland is the responsible way to proceed. While there is great economic potential in tapping into the natural gas under our mountains, it has to be done in a way that will not have harmful economic effects.

Maryland officials seem to realize this already.

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