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Maryland's Marcellus Shale Commission Begins To Set Fracking Guidelines

While New York hit another snag in its attempt to draft hydraulic fracturing regulations, the panel tasked with creating Maryland’s fracking policy is moving forward.
The  Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative Advisory Commission held an initial vote last week. The Cumberland Times-News reports the panel decided:

• A minimum amount should be established for a performance bond that would be required of drillers attempting to extract natural gas by what is known as fracking.
• Drilling companies that have sufficient assets and financial stability should be allowed to self-insure.
• There should be a mechanism to verify that funds will be available to address environmental cleanups that are not covered by comprehensive liability insurance.
• The Maryland Department of the Environment should be allowed to periodically adjust required bond amounts based upon changing costs of reclamation.

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