On March 10, New Jersey—a state in the northeastern region of the United States—put a ban on the practice of hydraulic fracking for natural gas reserves. The state is following suit with New York, which instated a seven-month ban on hydraulic fracking on various natural gas drilling sites for fears of water contamination.
The bans come in response to alleged water contamination issues being reported from the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, which has been using the hydraulic fracking process to tap the large natural gas reserves recently discovered in the Marcellus shale fields. Various communities throughout the state are complaining about water pollution resulting from the chemicals pumped underground in the fracking process.
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While New Jersey has no active fracking operations within the state as of yet, the ban comes as a preemptive measure, and is an attempt by government officials to send the message that fracking is not welcome in the state of New Jersey. Senator Robert Gordon said he hopes the ban "sends a clear signal, the first signal as a state, that we have grave concerns."
However, the New Jersey ban is not the first ban on natural gas fracking, as New York enacted a seven-month ban on the questionable drilling practice in December 2010.
The argument on the one hand is that natural gas fracking contaminates water supplies. On the other hand, the Marcellus shale offers a bountiful reserve of natural gas that could help meet the United States’ growing energy demand. When questioned about the need for cheap accessible energy, Senator Bob Smith, the chairman of the committee pushing the ban, commented that there is no dispute about the need for a cheap energy supply, but noted that the failure of energy businesses to properly regulate themselves in the past has led to the 105 superfund toxic waste sites spread throughout New Jersey already, and fracking has the potential to cause similar problems. The major concern is in the potential that fracking has on polluting the Delaware River Basin, which supplies water to residents of four states.
The bans come in response to alleged water contamination issues being reported from the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, which has been using the hydraulic fracking process to tap the large natural gas reserves recently discovered in the Marcellus shale fields. Various communities throughout the state are complaining about water pollution resulting from the chemicals pumped underground in the fracking process.
See top stories from WDM content network:
Offshore Technology Oil and Gas Businesses Need to Know About
Drilling: Advanced Technology for Down-Hole Inspection
Does Offshore Infrastructure Have a Chance?
Check out the latest issue of Energy Digital!
While New Jersey has no active fracking operations within the state as of yet, the ban comes as a preemptive measure, and is an attempt by government officials to send the message that fracking is not welcome in the state of New Jersey. Senator Robert Gordon said he hopes the ban "sends a clear signal, the first signal as a state, that we have grave concerns."
However, the New Jersey ban is not the first ban on natural gas fracking, as New York enacted a seven-month ban on the questionable drilling practice in December 2010.
The argument on the one hand is that natural gas fracking contaminates water supplies. On the other hand, the Marcellus shale offers a bountiful reserve of natural gas that could help meet the United States’ growing energy demand. When questioned about the need for cheap accessible energy, Senator Bob Smith, the chairman of the committee pushing the ban, commented that there is no dispute about the need for a cheap energy supply, but noted that the failure of energy businesses to properly regulate themselves in the past has led to the 105 superfund toxic waste sites spread throughout New Jersey already, and fracking has the potential to cause similar problems. The major concern is in the potential that fracking has on polluting the Delaware River Basin, which supplies water to residents of four states.
