Full economic study of Md. gas drilling due

TOWSON, Md. (AP) — Towson University researchers are preparing to release their full study of the prospective economic impact of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in western Maryland.

The scheduled release on Tuesday follows a presentation earlier this month by the school’s Regional Economic Studies Institute to a state commission charged with making recommendations for safe use of the drilling technique.

The presentation to the panel said gas drilling could create as many as 3,600 jobs in Allegany and Garrett counties in the next decade.

But researchers said the boom would likely end in the late 2020s, and could leave the area less appealing to tourists and vacation-home buyers, especially near Deep Creek Lake.

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