November 14th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
Maryland environmental regulators on Monday opened a 30-day window for public comment on proposed fracking regulations that could be adopted by the end of this year, enabling the state to permit drilling next October unless the General Assembly intervenes.
Publication of the proposed rules in Monday's edition of the Maryland Register was met by a demonstration in Baltimore calling for a permanent, statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil. It was the first in a series of events planned this week by anti-fracking activists seeking to draw attention to the proposed regulations.
Department of the Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles said in a statement that the rules would be the toughest in the nation governing the use of highly pressurized water and chemicals to fracture rock formations deep underground and release trapped gas.
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