Consumer Groups and Lawmakers Call for Statewide Fracking Ban in Maryland

Consumer Groups and Lawmakers Call for Statewide Fracking Ban in Maryland by Food & Water Watch, July 26, 2012, ecowatch
On July 25 Food & Water Watch and Delegate Shane Robinson (D-39) announced new legislation that would push for a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing in Maryland. With the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reporting new sources of untapped shale in Central and Southern Maryland—in addition to the Marcellus Shale in Western Maryland—fracking is fast becoming an issue of concern across the state. “The oil and gas industry now has its sights set on turning Maryland into a sacrifice zone for a mere five years’ worth of shale gas,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “The industry has managed to evade taxes, sidestep disclosure of the type of chemicals they use, and shirk their responsibility for providing water to communities whose water they’ve contaminated. It’s time for a ban on fracking in Maryland before it can damage communities like it has in Pennsylvania.” The industry is now targeting the Marcellus Shale in two counties in Western Maryland, but recent USGS findings suggest that drilling and fracking operations would likely expand to central and southern Maryland, as well as to the Eastern Shore—all within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. “This new report shows that the threat of fracking concerns all of Maryland,” said Delegate Shane Robinson (D-39). “No energy source is worth the water we drink or the air we breathe. That’s why I will work with my colleagues in the legislature to ban fracking in Maryland.” … “Fracking poses a serious threat to the public’s health, especially children and the elderly,” said Laura Anderko, PhD, RN, Scanlon Endowed Chair for Values Based Health Care at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies. … “There is evidence that many of the chemicals used or released during fracking can damage the skin, eyes, lungs, liver, kidneys, blood, brain and reproductive health through exposure to contaminated water and air. Of particular concern is the lack of full disclosure by the drilling companies of the chemicals used, making it impossible to fully evaluate the long-term health impacts.

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