“There’s a concern that if we don’t close this loophole sooner rather than later, it is going to essentially open up the proverbial gateway for further exploration, which is also going to be problematic,” Democratic state Sen. Lea Webb said ahead of the vote. Among thousands solicited by the company were many of Webb’s constituents in the Southern Tier, a region that runs along the border with Pennsylvania.
The region has been eyed by energy companies because of its richness in natural gas, which is trapped underground in large rock formations.
Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet underground, under pressure that is intense enough to break layers of rock containing oil or natural gas deposits so that the fossil fuel can be extracted. Fracking, which is banned in a few states including Vermont and Maryland, can cause earthquakes and has raised concerns about groundwater contamination.
State Sen. Thomas O’Mara, a Republican who voted against the bill, said during floor deliberations that the move to expand the ban on fracking is premature.
“This utopian approach is a train wreck coming down the tracks,” he said.
Southern Tier Solutions says on its website that it wants to use carbon captured from power plants to extract natural gas from inside the Marcellus and Utica Shales, vast rock formations that extend for hundreds of miles.
Company officials and its president, Bryce P. Phillips, have not responded to email and phone requests from The Associated Press. But in past interviews, Phillips has claimed swapping water with liquid carbon dioxide could be more environmentally friendly.
Supporters of the bill and some lawmakers cited concerns that pipelines carrying carbon dioxide for extraction could rupture, leading to poor air quality and major health risks.
They pointed to a 2020 incident in the small town of Satartia, Mississippi, where a pipeline carrying compressed carbon dioxide…
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