Investor, financier and hedge fund manager T. Boone Pickens is giving a Texas-sized cheer to North Carolina for the Old North State's emerging energy policies.

Pickens, who chairs BP Capital Management, has issued an enthusiastic blurb in support of a package of three energy bills that would legalize fracking in this state and urge drilling off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The bills were passed Wednesday by a state Senate committee on energy policy and will be introduced before the General Assembly in May.

To be precise, Pickens lauded one provision in the sweeping legislative package that would reshape the state's political landscape with new boards, taks forces and a smorgasbord of requirements. What Pickens liked is the proposed "aggressive move to move the state's school buses off OPEC oil/diesel/gasoline and onto domestic natural gas."

Claim: "(Fracking) would only bring to the state at most about 100 jobs."

Speaker: Bill Faison at Democratic gubernatorial debate Monday

The town of Cary may tonight ask that state legislators leave local governments some power over oil and gas drilling. A Cary Town Council resolution would urge legislators to allow towns and cities to decide what local land is appropriate for fracking, the controversial method of natural gas extraction that the state may soon legalize.

Currently, the rules governing fracking are unclear because the practice is illegal in this state. But if the North Carolina General Assembly un-bans hydraulic fracturing this summer, drillers could pump highly pressurized water and chemicals to break up prehistoric shale rock formations that hold natural gas far underground.

Cary's proposal would not attempt to grant the town new powers or cement any policy in place; instead, it asks the General Assembly to "preserve local governments'" power to designate certain areas as appropriate or inappropriate for drilling. The resolution acknowledges the economic windfalls fracking might bring, but urges a "thoughtful and deliberative" approach to potential pitfalls.

It's unclear yet whether Cary will be a lucrative spot for the practice. West Cary is part of a large basin which may contain gas reserves, and the practice may influence Cary one way or another, but no potential drilling areas "have yet been identified in this area," according to a recent town report.

Shale gas is most strongly believed to exist beneath a 1,400-square-mile area centered around Lee, Moore and Chatham counties, and possibly including western Wake County.

Advocates of fracking say it will supply bountiful amounts of a relatively clean fuel to offset dirty coal and oil imported from hostile regimes. Critics say it can contaminate water, and cause earth tremors and other environmental and public health problems.

With new doors potentially opening for the gas industry, Cary and other cities are jockeying for local influence over the new industry. And early signs at the state level show legalization is a real possibility: A draft report by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, issued this month, stated that fracking can be done safely so long as protections are in place.

In other states, numerous local governments have made firmer attempts to regulate or restrict fracking, sometimes resulting in litigation by energy companies. In Cary, the Shale Gas Development Task Force, a board of residents and staffers who helped craft tonight's resolution, will continue to investigate the practice.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners will not discuss the so-called “fracking” issue at tonight’s meeting as earlier indicated.

Fracking refers to hydraulic fracturing, a technology used in conjunction with horizontal drilling to tap into underground natural gas deposits trapped in shale rock formations. North Carolina is believed to have about 40 years of shale gas around Lee, Chatham, Moore and other central counties.

The commissioners are awaiting a full report from their appointed Environmental Affairs Board that has not yet been completed, Durham County officials announced this morning. That report is expected in another few weeks.

So far most of the discussion about "fracking" has been limited to Lee, Moore, and Chatham counties. But legislation pending in the General Assembly does not restrict drilling to a designated "fracking zone," Progress NC reports on its website. A map from the N.C. Department of Natural Resources shows potential for natural gas deposits all over the Triangle and Piedmont area of North Carolina. Two-thirds of Durham County and even Jordan Lake, a major source of drinking water, appears to be in the fracking zone, Progress NC says.

For more information on the Durham commissioners’ agenda this evening at 7 p.m., visit the Durham County website at www.durhamcountync.gov.

The People's Alliance, one of Durham's three major political-action groups, has taken a stand against fracking.

In a resolution released Friday, the PA calls on the General Assembly to take no action on legalizing the process "at least until" the federal Environmental Protection Agency finishes research on hydraulic fracking's effects on "the full water life cycle" is finished "and then, only if new regulations, agency funding and enforcement policies and procedures fully protect our waters, land, people, and local economies."

The resolution also asks that the Durham City Council and Board of County Commissioners take similar positions.
 

A free program to test well water quality in Lee and Chatham counties is getting underway Thursday with two informational sessions in Sanford for interested property owners.

The purpose of the testing program is to collect data about local water quality in advance of potential "fracking" in the state for natural gas. Water quality tests can cost up to $2,000 per well and are out of range for most farmers and property owners.

Some fear that natural gas drilling contaminates drinking water with methane gas and chemicals, and having baseline data will help determine if those fears are founded should drilling be allowed in this state. Disputes over water contamination in other states have resulted in claims of mystery illnesses and animal deaths, as well as lawsuits, settlements, bottled water deliveries and some homeowners being relocated at the expense of the drilling company.

Experts on mineral rights and other aspects of energy exploration will discuss the ins and outs of negotiating land leases tonight at a workshop in Durham.

The fracking event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Durham County Extension Office at 721 Foster Street. It's free to the public.

Fracking refers to hydraulic fracturing, a technology used in conjunction with horizontal drilling to tap into underground natural gas deposits trapped in shale rock formations. North Carolina is believed to have about 40 years of shale gas around Lee, Chatham, Moore and other central counties.

Such drilling practices are not currently legal in this state but they are likely to be debated by the state legislature.

Speakers will discuss legal considerations and other factors to consider when negotiating a lease, among other related topics.

The North Carolina chapter of the Sierra Club this morning unveiled a website called The Daily Frack that promises "the fracking truth."

The club is one of the groups leading opposition to fracking in this state. Fracking, which is short for hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method of drilling that uses chemicals and water to fracture underground rock formations and release natural gas. It is not legal in North Carolina, but the GOP-led legislature is exploring the possibility of changing that.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is studying the potential impact of fracking and plans to release a draft report in March. Supporters say fracking will tap into vast amounts of a clean-burning domestic energy resource to offset burning dirty coal and importing oil.

Opposed are concerned about what fracking could do to the environment, including water contamination.

The site includes research, news stories and maps showing where natural gas deposits are located in North Carolina. It also allows visitors to the site to ask questions.

Duke University, known for its advocacy of global warming and environmental sciences, is adding "fracking" to its repertoire and holding a conference next week on the topic in Durham.

The Jan. 9 conference, free to the public, comes in the wake of a study issued last year by Duke scientists linking fracking to contamination of drinking water in Pennsylvania. The Duke study, incidentally, was roundly criticized by the oil and gas industry as biased and unsound, criticisms that are likely to be repeated at next week's conference.

Duke's conference, which will consider the environmental and social implications of fracking, is designed to bring together advocates and critics of fracking. The term refers to hydraulic fracturing, a technology that involves pumping water and chemicals deep into the ground under high pressure to release natural gas trapped in prehistoric shale rock formations.

The issue is gaining prominence in this state, where an estimated 1,400 square miles of shale rock are believed to hold several decades of natural gas supplies, mostly centered around Lee, Moore and Chatham counties.  Supporters of fracking say it's the best option for tapping a clean-burning fossil fuel as an alternative to imported oil and dirty coal.

State officials working on a study of the benefits and risks of natural gas exploration in North Carolina expect to have a draft report ready in March, in time for two public hearings planned in the Triangle on the topic of gas drilling.

Drilling for natural gas trapped in prehistoric shale rock formations is already proving divisive and controversial, even though "fracking" technology is not legal in North Carolina at this time. Critics say fracking contaminates drinking water supplies and causes other environmental risks, while supporters are pushing to tap into the nation's vast reserves of a clean-burning domestic resource as a way of offsetting dirty coal and imported oil.

North Carolina is estimated to have about 40 years of natural gas supply trapped less than a mile below Lee, Moore and Chatham counties and surrounding areas. The U.S. Geological Survey is expected to issue more sophisticated estimates of this state's reserve, but the actual quantity won't be known until energy companies start drilling.