(Reuters) - Vermont will be the first state to outlaw a controversial oil and gas drilling method known as fracking when Governor Peter Shumlin signs a bill banning the practice, a largely symbolic move given the state's apparent lack of energy reserves.

Hydraulic fracturing has helped companies tap potentially decades of gas supply and huge amounts of oil from previously inaccessible shale formations dotted across the United States in recent years.

Environmentalists say the practice, which involves injecting millions of gallons of chemical-laced water into underground wells, may contaminate groundwater and trigger earthquakes.

"Governor Shumlin does support the fracking ban," said Sue Allen, a spokeswoman for Vermont's Democratic governor. "He will sign the legislation when it reaches his desk."

"Vermont's policy makes sense given the high risks of drilling and fracking and the lack of science showing how or whether this process can be conducted safely," said Dusty Horwitt, a senior counsel at the Environmental Working Group.

"The drilling industry has shrunk EPA's enforcement power down to the size of a matchbox," Horwitt said. "There's not a lot the EPA can do."

Read the entire article here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47343737/ns/us_news-environment/#.T6rKU7_gKi... [1]