RALEIGH, N.C. — After a three-hour debate Thursday, the state House approved legalizing natural gas exploration in North Carolina, including a drilling method that environmentalists say could contaminate water supplies.
The House voted 66-43 for Senate Bill 820, which directs several state agencies to devise drilling regulations by October 2014, when the first permits could be offered.
The bill returns to the Senate, which approved it last week mainly along party lines, for a final vote to concur with changes adopted by the House before heading to Gov. Beverly Perdue’s desk.
Sen. Robert Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, who sponsored the bill, has said he is on board with the House changes, and the measure is expected to easily win final approval.
The Republican-led House beat back several amendments by Democratic lawmakers seeking to slow down the process, which House Minority Leader Joe Hackney said would cause “social disruption” in rural Chatham, Lee and Moore counties, where the greatest pocket of natural gas lies.
