MARYLAND'S APPROACH TO HIGH VOLUME HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

In 2009, the first application for horizontal drilling and high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) for natural gas was submitted to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Natural gas production in Maryland had essentially ceased 50 years earlier with the depletion of the Oriskany Sandstone reservoir. Maryland’s regulations were outdated and the MDE program responsible for the review of permit applications, issuance of permits, inspection, and enforcement was understaffed.

Proponents and opponents of HVHF began lobbying both the executive branch and the legislature. For the next five years, the administration of Governor Martin O’Malley and the legislature tried various tactics to resolve the issues.

In 2011, the Governor directed MDE and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in consultation with an Advisory Commission, to determine whether and how HVHF could go forward in Maryland without unacceptable risks. The Advisory Commission was headed by a geologist, David Vanko, Ph.D., currently a Dean at Towson University. Its 15 members included a broad array of elected officials, business interests, environmental groups, and an expert in public health. After extensive work and consultation with the Advisory Commission, MDE and DNR identified best practices and concluded that, provided these were followed, the risks were not unacceptable. Specific recommendations were made concerning disclosure of the chemicals used, protection against cumulative impacts, and pre- and post-drilling monitoring. Consistent with this conclusion, MDE proposed regulations on January 9, 2015, in the closing days of the O’Malley administration. The regulations will be considered withdrawn if they are not adopted within a year of proposal, and it is thought unlikely that the administration of Governor Hogan will adopt the regulations as proposed.

The 2015 legislature passed bills that established a new timeline for HVHF. Regulations must be formally adopted by October 1, 2016, but cannot become effective until October 1, 2017. In addition, MDE is forbidden to issue a permit for hydraulic fracturing until October 1, 2017. This timeline guarantees that the legislature will have the opportunity to review the regulations and override them by legislation if it objects to them.