Pennsylvania's state senate has passed a law allowing the state to tax shale gas drilling, so long as local zoning laws don't get in the way of drillers. A lot of people are unhappy with the compromise bill, but according to The New York Times, it's still expected to pass the state's House on Tuesday. The bill would set up Pennsylvania's first statewide regulation on the controversial natural gas drilling technique, and could bring in taxes worth about $211 million this year, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The drilling, known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has become a divisive issue because it's been shown to pollute groundwater. Pennsylvania's got a lot of natural gas trapped in its shale rock and proponents of a statewide bill said it had to streamline its approach to the many gas companies trying to come and drill. But opponents say they've been sold out to gas companies, and a lot of towns argued they would lose control of what happened on their land if the bill passed.

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Adam Martin