© AP Photo/Brennan LinsleyA worker helps monitor water pumping pressure and temperature, at an Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. hydraulic fracturing and extraction site, outside Rifle, in western Colorado.
Last week the state Senate signed off on legislation that would officially end North Carolina's moratorium on fracking next summer.
The Senate voted 35-12 Thursday for the measure that seeks to move the regulatory process for hydraulic fracturing toward its conclusion. The legislation says permits could be issued starting as early as July 1, 2015.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals.
If the bill passes, Lee County and those around it will be some of the first in the state to see fracking wells because the area is thought to have vast deposits of natural gas.
Supporters say the economics make sense and the process would make the U.S. less dependent on foreign oil.
"I have to stand up and say that the people that I represent who are most effected by a lot of this would like to be able to go forward so they can get the jobs and the bread on the table," said Sen. Ronald Rabin (R-Lee County).
Opponents, however, are concerned about their property rights. Some homeowners also say they're concerned about the potential for contamination to water in the area.
"This whole process has been too fast," said Ed Harris, who lives outside Sanford. "There's not enough study that's gone into it."
Harris has 21 acres and wants to keep fracking out of his backyard.
"My land is an extension of my living room," Harris said.
Keely Wood lives just a few miles from Harris, and said she's ready to put up a fight.
"It's our own little piece of paradise," Wood said.
Lawmakers supporting the bill say North Carolina has learned from the mistakes of other states where fracking is allowed.
"With the slow deliberate process that we had in North Carolina, we will not have the growing pains that they had in other states," said Sen. Andrew Brack (R-Davie County).
But Wood is not convinced and said she's considering moving from her paradise.
"The question is, 'Do I sell it now or wait and sell it when they start drilling?'"
There will be several public hearings scheduled later this summer to discuss the legislation.
Reader Comments
Boy, those places must be desolate lands. Drilling for gas and oil has made America's heartland a wasteland of disease, death and famine. Human life has not been able to sustain a presence in a mysterious land called Texas since oil was first discovered in the late 1800s.