Debate over fracking erupts anew in Illinois, California after states pass first regulations

CHICAGO – Illinois drew praise after environmentalists and industry got together last year to help write the state’s first regulations for hydraulic fracturing.

But implementing the law is proving more contentious than many expected.

The Department of Natural Resources is adopting rules to reflect the law, a process that has stirred another drilling debate. Environmentalists are now worried that some safeguards agreed to at the bargaining table are being weakened. The oil industry says some of the rules could stall permits.

The issue also is proving difficult in California, where lawmakers passed that state’s first fracking rules.