CCAN applauds resounding 93-45 House vote, calls on senators to act swiftly in turn

ANNAPOLIS—Today the Maryland House of Delegates voted 93 to 45 to pass a three-year fracking moratorium—a resounding 2-to-1 margin that included bipartisan support. The bill, the Protect Our Health and Communities Act (HB 449), now moves on to the Senate.
Shilpa Joshi, Maryland Campaign Coordinator at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, had the following statement in response:
“The House made the right choice today to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the natural resources that are the foundation of so many Maryland livelihoods. As more than 100 Western Maryland businesses, more than 100 Maryland health professionals, and thousands of individual citizens have warned, we have a whole lot to lose and little to gain by opening our state to dangerous fracking.
“Senators should now act swiftly in passing this three-year moratorium. Polling shows that Marylanders want this moratorium, and the emerging science shows that this is the only way to safeguard our health.”
Click here to read the full statement from the “Don’t Frack Maryland” coalition. See the excerpt recapping the widespread grassroots support for the moratorium:

Business owners in Western Maryland have expressed growing concern that fracking will negatively affect the booming tourism industry in that part of the state, where fracking would occur in the Marcellus Shale. Over 100 Western Maryland business owners have signed a letter to the leadership of the General Assembly in support of the fracking moratorium. The Don’t Frack Maryland campaign has also sent over 25,000 messages supporting a moratorium. Letters signed by more than 100 health professionals, and over 50 restaurant owners, chefs, winemakers and farmers from across the state have also been delivered to the General Assembly. And last night, the Friendsville Town Council, whose city is the center of a thriving white-water rafting industry in the state, sent a letter supporting a moratorium to President Miller, urging him to encourage a vote in the Senate.

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