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Illinois House Delays Fracking-Rules Vote

By on March 15, 2013

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois House committee has delayed voting on a measure that would regulate hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state.

 

The House Revenue and Finance Committee was expected to meet Friday morning to vote on the regulatory proposal, but lawmakers did not gather in Springfield.

Backers of the measure that would regulate this high-volume gas and oil drilling practice announced Thursday that they have agreed on the fees and extraction taxes that drillers would pay to the state.

Industry operators will pay $13,000 per well to help fund the state’s regulatory program. They’ll also pay a 3 percent per barrel “severance” tax during the first two years of operation, and higher taxes then on.

Fracking allows tapping into deep oil and gas reserves.