Like the National Rifle Association which looks to squelch every common sense gun control recommendation made by our Police Depts around the USA, our current Republican Congressional Delegation is against every common sense recommendation by Scientists that protects our wild places...............The Forest Service wants to ban the chemical laden Hydro Fracking Natural Gas mining technique in the George Washington National Forest.....What does our Republican elected officials immediately say in response: .....drill anywhere, everywhere and at any time.........Of course, they ignore all common sense as it relates to the fact that this technique has poisoned water supplies whrever it is used.............scars landscapes terribly and uses millions of gallons of water to mine the Natural Gas...............Short term thinking and recklessness my Republican friends,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and President Obama, instead of always looking to play both sides of the fence, make the bold and correct statement to prohibit hydrofracking from all of our National forests............"What's good for the goose is good for the gander"

 
By Tennille Tracy

Republicans are growing concerned with a proposal by the U.S. Forest Service to ban hydraulic fracturing in a national forest, saying it could mark the first step in a broader effort to eliminate the natural gas- drilling technique. In a congressional hearing Friday, House Republicans criticized a draft plan by the Forest Service to prohibit hydraulic fracturing in certain parts of the George Washington National Forest, a 1.1-million acre forest stretching across Virginia and West Virginia.

There are no active gas wells currently in production on the forest, but "the policy of this administration now appears to be an outright ban starting with 1.1 million acres in Virginia," said Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee's energy panel. "What does this portend for the future?" About 12,000 acres of the George Washington National Forest are currently leased for oil and natural gas development, according to the Forest Service.

Speaking at Friday's hearing, a top official with the Forest Service rejected the idea that the plan for the forest represented a broader policy goal. The plan "is place-specific," said Joel Holtrop, deputy chief of the Forest Service. It "does not represent a broader policy with respect to hydraulic fracturing." "On the contrary," Holtrop said, the Obama administration believes hydraulic fracturing "provides enormous potential benefits to the country as long as it is done in a way that protects public health and the environment."

Released in April, the draft plan for the George Washington National Forest outlines seven proposals for the forest's land, with the "preferred" option prohibiting horizontal drilling and the associated hydraulic fracturing. Other options in the plan allow for the technique.

The Forest Service is expected to finalize this plan by the end of the year.The debate over the George Washington National Forest takes place amid a broader battle over hydraulic fracturing -- a process whereby a mix of water, chemicals and sand are injected into rock pores to release oil and gas to be brought to the surface.

Lawmakers, scientists and environmental groups have raised concerns about the technique and say it can contaminate water supplies and hurt wildlife. In a recent development, a scientist with the Forest Service published a study in the Journal of Environmental Quality and found that hydrofracturing fluid caused severe damage to ground vegetation and killed trees.

In response to the concerns, the federal government has launched several efforts to study the issue. The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the impact on water supplies and a group led by the Energy Department has been asked to develop recommendations to improve the safety of natural gas extraction.
Also on Friday, Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey said his agency, which oversees oil and gas development on federal lands, was currently reviewing its rules for hydraulic fracturing and would soon decide whether to make changes to them.

US Forest Plan Raises Stakes In Fracking Battle, Republicans Say