Delegate Eric Bromwell Discusses Fracking in Maryland

The 2015 General Assembly approved legislation to put a two-year moratorium on fracking in Maryland and ordered the State Department of the Environment (MDE) to draft regulations to govern the practice. The moratorium ends in October 2017.

The Chairperson of the Senate committee that will hear the bill to ban fracking supports fracking. However, the Chairperson of the
House committee that will hear the bill supports a fracking ban or at the very least, an extension of the moratorium. It should be noted that 60% of Marylanders oppose fracking.

In December, the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (AELR) met to review the proposed fracking regulations. The Secretary of MDE described the proposed rules as "the platinum standard" compared to other states. That is hardly a recommendation when
fracking regulations in other states are viewed as lax.

The proposed regulations leave much to be desired. First, the MDE is charged with oversight of the fracking operation. Yet, the fracking
company's Comprehensive Development Plan does not need the approval of MDE and the MDE is not allowed to make any changes. While the regulations call for public meetings to be held, there is no requirement for a fracking company to pay any attention at all to citizen concerns or suggestions. The penalties for violations of regulation are laughable. They call for fines of $10,000 per day for a violation, up to $50,000, but fracking operators will barely notice such low fines given the amount of money that they will be making on the fracking operation. Attention needs to be called to the regulation, which allows explosive blasting within 500 feet of any occupied dwelling, commercial building, school, church or hospital. Furthermore, pollution issues are inadequately
addressed.

The fracking process uses millions of gallons of pressurized water and over 500 chemicals, many of which are carcinogins. It is foolhardy
to ignore the potential danger of these chemicals poisoning a community's air and drinking water. A study by Duke University researchers found evidence of increased levels of methane in groundwater in northeastern Pennsylvania and the methane levels increased with proximity to the gas wells.

Frankly, I do not believe there is such a thing as safe fracking. Baltimore, Montgomery, and Prince George's County Councils have banned fracking within their borders. After seven years of study, New York State banned fracking. The state's Department of Environmental Conservation concluded that fracking "poses significant adverse impacts to land, air, water, natural resources and potential significant public health impacts that cannot be adequately mitigated."

I fully support an extension of the moratorium, or ideally, a permanent ban on fracking in Maryland.