'Fight Club' Actor Speaks Out Against Fracking

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A controversial natural gas and oil drilling process called fracking is getting a lot of attention in Annapolis this year.

Pat Warren reports lawmakers want to take another look.

Not only lawmakers, but a Hollywood name is promoting his support for the "Don't Frack Maryland" campaign.

"Hi, this is Edward Norton. Before I became an actor, I grew up in Maryland and spent my youth in its pristine natural beauty," Norton said in an ad.

In the radio ad paid for by Food & Water Watch, Norton states that fracking can poison our water and air. These are arguments made by supporters of bills to issue a moratorium in Maryland.

"It risks both our health and our tourism economy," Norton continues.

The process of fracturing underground shale to extract natural gas has long been a subject of debate in Maryland and around the country. Some states have banned it.

It is believed to endanger the drinking water supplies, sometimes flaming tap water as a result of methane gas seeping into wells near fracking sites.

On Monday, the Senate passed a moratorium on fracking in Maryland.

Mitch Jones of "Don't Frack Maryland" tells WJZ the Senate bill is a good start.

"No permits can be issued in Maryland for fracking, for either exploration or production of gas, until or before October 2017. I call that putting on the brakes," Jones said. "We're definitely taking our foot off the gas, we're taking a pause."

The House has passed a three-year moratorium on fracking to study the potential effects.

"Other states have banned fracking, but Maryland's Governor Hogan is indicating he may ignore the risks," the Norton ad continues. "Don't let him."

Governor Hogan has said he supports fracking as long as it is safe, but has not taken a position on the bill.

A state senator who represents western Maryland, the most likely location for fracking, voted in favor of the bill to allows rules and regulation to be put into place before drilling.

The moratorium would be three years and study the effects of fracking.