It will be at least another month before legislators take up regulations of hydraulic fracturing. A bipartisan panel Tuesday voted to spend more time reviewing, and potentially rewriting them.
The oil and gas industry and other fracking proponents has bemoaned how long Gov. Pat Quinn's administration has taken to put rules in place. It's been well over a year since he signed a law legalizing it, but before companies can begin drilling, those rules must be finalized.
And yet, this was the Illinois Manufacturing Association's Mark Denzler's reaction to the delay:
"This is very good news for us."
That's because he doesn't like the latest draft of rules drawn up by the Department of Natural Resources; fracking advocates basically say they're too onerous. Denzler says it's a good sign that legislators want to take more time with them. It's a signal the rules will change.
Environmentalists, who have concerns like that fracking will taint Illinois' water supply, also want the rules tweaked. Though they're much happier with this version than the previous one, which the fracking industry DID like.
The legislative panel is set to meet again in a month; the rules have to be in place by mid-November, or the process starts over.
