The use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to recover previously unrecoverable quantities of natural gas (methane) from deep geologic formations is one of the largest growth industries in the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere. Fracking began in earnest in the U.S. around 2005.

An organization called Environment America produced a report called Fracking by the Numbers in October 2013. According to the report, there have been about 82,000 fracking wells installed in the U.S. since 2005. The four states with the most fracking wells are Texas (33,000), Colorado (18,000), Pennsylvania (6,600) and North Dakota (5,700).

The Marcellus Shale underlies about half the state of Pennsylvania and is the source of methane. The Marcellus also underlies the two westernmost counties of Maryland, part of West Virginia, and a very small part of far northwestern Virginia. At present, Maryland does not allow fracking.

Recently I attended a presentation by David Vanko, a geologist from Towson University in Maryland. He is a member of the Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative Advisory Commission in Maryland, a group formed by the Maryland governor to assure that any fracking in Maryland be conducted under the safest possible conditions. In other words, Maryland wants to learn from the mistakes of other states. The initiative will help Maryland policy makers and regulators determine if or how gas production from the Marcellus can be accomplished without risk of adverse impacts.

So what are some of the concerns that the initiative is addressing? They can be divided into three areas, well site concerns, environmental concerns, and quality of life concerns.

Well site concerns include well construction and grouting; storage and handling of fracking chemicals; disposal of fracking water; and worker safety.

Environmental concerns include ground- and surface water protection from methane produced by fracking; air quality; naturally occurring radioactive material; earthquakes; and forest fragmentation.

Quality of life concerns include traffic; road damage; public safety; housing; crime; and impacts to agriculture and prime farmland.

There is no timetable for if and when Maryland will allow fracking. I applaud Maryland for taking a go-slow approach to fracking and if they allow it, for trying to get it right and for putting public safety high on their agenda. I hope that Virginia takes a similar common sense approach to fracking if it becomes an issue in our state.

So why is a water guy from Loudoun County interested in how another state is dealing with the fracking issue? The operable word for me is water.

Fracking requires huge amounts of water that is mixed with sand and chemicals and pumped down the wells. My questions are where would Maryland well site operators get their water and how will they dispose of wastewater?

There is no consistent groundwater supply in western Maryland so they will have to rely on surface water. Lakes? The Potomac River? If they are allowed to use Potomac River water, what impact will that have on downstream utilities such as Loudoun Water whose principal supply of drinking water is derived the Potomac?

Also, if deep well injection is used to dispose of fracking water, is the possibility enhanced for earthquakes that might impact Northern Virginia? Maybe I'm simply a worrier, but I do appreciate the job that Maryland is doing to try to mitigate the impacts of fracking if they decide to approve it. Virginia, take heed.