Two-year delay proposed in shale gas drilling

Officials want more time to study risks in Western Maryland
By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun

8:48 p.m. EST, February 23, 2011

O'Malley administration officials told state lawmakers Wednesday that they need up to two years more to study the risks of drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale deposits in Western Maryland before deciding whether to let the controversial practice go forward.

Testifying before the House Environmental Matters Committee, Robert M. Summers, Maryland's acting secretary of the environment, said he and other administration officials plan a comprehensive evaluation of the potential health and environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing, the technique used to extract gas from shale layers far underground.

"We want to make sure we thoroughly understand what we're doing, what the consequences would be, before we proceed," Summers said. He and John R. Griffin, Maryland's secretary of natural resources, spoke in favor of a bill that would impose a temporary moratorium on drilling until adequate safeguards are in place to prevent contamination of drinking-water wells, pollution of mountain streams and other problems.

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