A coalition made of labor unions, the oil industry and business groups has been clamoring for the state to hurry and create rules that will allow drillers to begin high-volume hydraulic fracturing in Illinois.
Now, though, they're asking for a legislative commission to take a step back in the process.
Illinois' law was heralded as a potential national model for fracking. Drillers and a bunch of environmental organizations had reached a compromise that would supposedly allow fracking to thrive, while protecting the earth.
But the law is more of a broad outline. The state has to write rules to govern the details. There's no agreement on how that should go.
Environmentalists hated the Department of Natural Resources's first version; now the pro-fracking GROW coalition is upset about the second attempt.
Jim Watson, head of the Illinois Petroleum Council, says Illinois is losing great opportunity to reel in fracking companies.
"Nobody's going to invest the millions of dollars it takes if we don't have a stable environment. This is sending the signal that you're not sure what you're going to get."
DNR's latest set of rules now goes before a bipartisan legislative commission. Watson and the rest of the GROW coalition want the commission to order DNR to again revise its proposal.
Fracking is a process that involves using a mixture of water, gas and sand to reach oil and gas trapped deep underground.
