RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Two state agencies will coordinate their reviews of potential permits for hydraulic fracking for natural gas in Virginia’s coastal plain.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Wednesday that the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the Department of Environmental Quality have signed a Memorandum of Agreement.
McAuliffe said the move will help ensure the state focuses on protecting the Potomac Aquifer, which supplies about half of Virginia’s water.
There’s an estimated 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Taylorsville Basin. A Dallas energy company plans to drill in tens of thousands of leased acres south and east of Fredericksburg.
Some local officials have expressed concerns about some of the chemicals used in fracking being injected into an area near the Chesapeake Bay.
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