The decision was revealed in the latest “federal management plan” for the forest.
“The plan includes a decision that limits availability for new oil and gas leasing, while establishing a comprehensive framework for potential development on about 10,000 acres where there are existing valid leases, as well as on 167,200 acres with existing private mineral rights,” explained a press release.
The fact that drilling is limited to “only” 177,200 acres has some environmentalists hailing their success in pushing back against industry pressure to expand drilling to more of the 1.1 million-acre forest, but it reverses an outright ban proposed by the U.S. Forest Service in 2011.
However, that ban was loudly criticized by energy companies and industry groups including Chesapeake Energy, Halliburton, the Virginia Oil and Gas Association, and ConocoPhillips who have enlisted members of Congress to help in overturning it.
Fracking — or hydraulic fracturing as it is more officially termed — pumps water and chemicals into shale rock to extract natural gas. The furious methodology has been attributed with a number of environmental issues around the country:
According to a recent study conducted in Ohio, fracking caused a series of small earthquakes along an unknown fault.
Fracking also caused earthquakes in Oklahoma, according to another study.
Fracking has been faulted for “flaming” wells containing drinking water supplies in both Pennsylvania and Texas.
Another study revealed that fracking releases 1,000 times more methane into the atmosphere than the EPA has claimed.
With such data pointing to the damage done to other states, several neighboring towns and communities had voiced strong opposition to permitting fracking in the George Washington National Forest, and Virginia Governor Terry Mcauliffe announced "I won't allow it as long as I'm governor.”
While some environmentalists called the plan a negotiated success, others responded negatively, arguing any fracking in national parks is a travesty.
Nearby communities, local governments, the Governor of Virginia, every major water utility in the DC area, and the Forest Service’s original recommendation had it right when they opposed the use of hydraulic fracturing in the George Washington National Forest.
“The President can protect the climate and public health, or he can continue to promote fracking,” said Earthworks energy program director Bruce Baizel in a statement. “He cannot do both."
