Nobody has applied to Vermont for permission to drill for oil or gas using hydraulic fracturing.
No one is sure it would even be worthwhile to do so.
Still, the Legislature and Gov. Peter Shumlin are considering banning the practice, commonly called hydrofracking. Vermont would become the first state to do so.
“This is kind of saying, ‘Don’t bother. Close the door on the issue,’” said Rep. Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, sponsor of a bill the House Fish & Wildlife Committee is preparing to vote on this week. “It’s about protecting our most precious resource — our groundwater.”
A look at what’s going on in neighboring New York state, across the border in Quebec, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere is all that some lawmakers and state officials needed to conclude they want no part of the procedure. Stories abound of possible links between drilling and contamination of well water, earthquakes and more.
This seems a hopeful sign, despite Vermont’s lack of natural gas deposits…
Vermont Legislature considers banning hydrofracking | Burlington Free Press