Slowing Down Natural Gas Drilling in Western Maryland

Heather speaks with reporters following passage of HB 1204

The Situation

Western Maryland sits on top of the Marcellus Shale, an underground rock formation that spans from New York to Virginia - including most of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. New drilling technology makes extracting natural gas from the shale commercially viable for the first time.

But just as there's no such thing as a free lunch, there's no such thing as free energy, either. There are already thousands of wells in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with plans for many more. And though drilling companies claim that their techniques are safe, there have been thousands of safety violations in just a few years - an average of more than three per day.

Here in Maryland, 150,000 acres of land has been leased and drilling firms have filed for permits to begin extracting gas. Were they to receive necessary approvals, it would take as little as two months to begin extracting natural gas.

The Solution

Evidence continues to mount that Maryland was wise in its go-slow, study-first approach to shale gas drilling. The Environmental Protection Agency recently released two reports that showed drinking water contamination in Wyoming and earthquakes in Ohio – both caused by activities related to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.

In 2011, Heather worked to pass legislation to ensure that Maryland takes a go-slow approach on natural gas drilling. The Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Act passed in the House, but failed in the Senate. As a result, Heather worked with Governor O’Malley to issue an Executive Order to create a study of natural gas drilling in Maryland. This study – the Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative – will examine the short- and long-term economic and environmental impacts of shale gas drilling in Maryland.

Though Maryland called a successful “time-out” on drilling last year, our fracking study is unfunded, making it nearly impossible to complete a comprehensive examination of natural gas drilling in Maryland. Without this funding or revenue from another source, the Departments cannot ensure the completion of detailed environmental and health safety studies, which must be conducted before we determine whether drilling should occur in Maryland.

The Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Study Fee (HB1204/SB798) filed by Heather and Senator Brian Frosh establishes a retroactive $10-per-acre fee assessed by the state and charged to oil and gas companies with leasing interests in Maryland, and will fund this critically important study.

Heather has also introduced bills to protect Maryland’s consumers and landowners and to ensure corporate transparency on the part of energy companies wishing to drill in Maryland.

House Bills 1033, 1034, 1040, 1072, 1170, and 1172 will require energy companies to keep and provide records about their shale gas drilling; establish a transfer tax on the sale of mineral rights and the transfer of oil and gas leases; require energy companies to disclose shale gas drilling risks as part of standard leasing language; create a searchable registry of oil and gas leases; require companies to file complete copies of leases; and require land speculators to provide home and landowners with a notification informing them of their rights before signing a gas lease.