WBTV Speak Out Editorial: "Fracking" in NC - Worth Investigating
- WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC
Posted: Updated:    Several weeks ago our state senate approved
a law to legalize hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in North
Carolina.  Fracking is a process that uses pressurized water to
help retrieve natural gas buried deep within the soil.  The
senate vote comes with mixed reviews and questions.  Is fracking
safe?  What are the long term effects?  Who will monitor the
process?  And what economic impact will this have?  Well, the
answers you receive depend on who you ask.  Special interest
groups on each side put their particular spin on it.  And let's
be clear, just because fracking is now legal, that doesn't mean
it's eminent.  The new law calls for a 15-member commission to
develop regulations, with potential groundwater contamination a
point of special interest.  And no permits will be issued before
October of 2014.  Economically, this is a win-win situation for
landowners