Controversial ‘fracking’ bill in question after heated public hearing
The sponsor of a controversial bill to regulate a controversial method of extracting natural gas from the ground, known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, asked Monday that the measure be killed, the Portland Press Herald reported.
State Rep. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake, asked members of the Legislature’s Environmental and Natural Resources Committee to withdraw the emergency legislation, which he said went against his original intent.
Martin told the newspaper he in the meantime learned that the Maine Department of Environmental protection already regulates such activities.
“It solves my problem or any problem I thought I had,” Martin said, according to the Press Herald report. “My only goal was to make sure we don’t have fracturing in Maine.”
LD 1453, “An Act to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing to Prevent Threats to Maine’s Drinking Water, was referred to the committee on April 18. As an emergency measure, the legislation would take effect as soon as approved, according to the Legislature’s website.
At Monday’s hastily called public hearing, several speakers questioned the safety of fracking and called for an outright moratorium, following similar moves in states such as New York and Vermont.
One farmer, who said she drove two hours to Augusta opposed the proposed legislation on behalf of young farmers. “Not only are we opposed to fracking,” she said, but also invested in building clean and renewable energy. She urged the committee to act on behalf of the young people “who are stewarding its [Maine’s] farmland.”
Another opponent, from the town of Atkinson, said she was “kind of shocked” when she heard the proposed bill was coming up so quickly and joined several others calling for a fracking ban in the state.
“We need to ban fracking in Maine, and I hope that someone will put out legislation to that effect,” she said.”
Another speaker used an acoustic ballad to voice his concerns. “They should keep their oil in the ground,” he sang.
The Environmental and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to hold a work session on LD 1453 on Wednesday at 10 a.m. It is the fourth item on that morning’s agenda.
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