State bill seeks to strike down fracking rules
Bills to get rid of the oil and gas extraction rules developed by the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission have been introduced in both the House and Senate of the N.C. General Assembly, with Rep. Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, signing on as a co-sponsor of the House version.
The rules spell out regulations for drilling and mining of oil and gas, setting the stage for a new era of energy development in the state following North Carolina’s lifting of the ban on hydraulic fracturing, called fracking. Fracking allows companies to cost-effectively get fossil fuels out of the ground where they couldn’t before, but many decry the practice as dangerous and environmentally toxic.
The rules are slated to go into effect 30 to 60 days after the beginning of the 2015 session — if no alternative bill is passed to disprove all or part of the proposed rules. If passed, the bills now introduced in the House and Senate would keep the rules from being implemented.
