This week, Prince George’s County’s city council voted unanimously to ban natural-gas drilling–better known as fracking –throughout the county. They are the first county in the state to take such action.
Last year, Maryland passed a 2.5 year moratorium on fracking; the Prince George’s resolution takes that one step further by prohibiting the practice entirely. While Prince George’s isn’t as interesting to oil exploration companies as Maryland’s Western counties, activists are considering this both a practical and a symbolic victory, and hoping that it paves the way for future legislation in other counties.
Other counties across the nation have passed similar bans. Results have been mixed; in Texas, the state banned fracking bans; in New York, courts upheld local jurisdictions’ anti-fracking rules–and then the state banned the practice entirely.
Latest posts by Rachel Monroe (see all)
- The Effect of a Dilapidated Home on a Baltimore Block - September 19, 2017
- The Ku Klux Klan Is Apparently Still Alive and Well in Maryland - August 24, 2017
- Baltimore May Be Getting a Professional Soccer Team - September 16, 2016
