Vt. becomes first state to ban fracking

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed into law the nation’s first ban on hydraulic fracturing—better known as fracking—a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique that involves blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground. The Democrat says the law may help Vermont set an example for other states. The ban may be largely symbolic, however, because there is believed to be little to no natural gas or oil beneath the surface in Vermont. Fracking—which triggered a drilling and economic boon in northeast Louisiana in recent years and more recently began taking place across central Louisiana along the Tuscaloosa Shale—involves the high-pressure injection of water and chemicals into the ground to split rock apart and release natural gas or oil. Critics have blamed the practice for contaminating drinking water wells of some residents living near the drilling operations, but natural gas industry officials dispute those claims. Shumlin says the increased amounts of natural gas obtainable through fracking are not worth the risk to drinking water supplies. In the coming generation or two, he says, “Drinking water will be more valuable than oil or natural gas.” But the governor also appeared to contradict himself during Wednesday’s signing of the ban into law, saying other states should emulate Vermont’s ban on hydraulic fracturing but also should be the “guinea pigs” for testing the process. “I hope other states will follow us,” he says. “The science on fracking is uncertain at best. Let the other states be the guinea pigs. Let the Green Mountain State preserve its clean water, its lakes, its rivers and its quality of life.” Industry groups, including the American Petroleum Institute and America’s Natural Gas Alliance, are panning the Vermont ban.