House Bill 464 passed the Senate Resources and Environment Committee on Friday, March 2, with a 6 to 3 vote after three and a half hours of discussion and testimony extended from a similar Wednesday, February 29, hearing.  Deviously crafted and promoted by the Idaho Petroleum Council, the proposed bill bypasses state rulemaking processes and limits city, county, and local jurisdictional control of natural gas drilling operations, including hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” practices.  It also would exempt all natural gas wells from state regulations for injection wells, thus allowing disposal of hazardous fracking fluids underground, where they could endanger community and private drinking water.  Five other oil and natural gas laws were also recommended as “do pass” measures by the seven Republican and two Democrat committee members.  Listen to between 13:11 and 6:21 of the Monday, March 5, Evening Report, Two Megaload Blockers Arrested, on KRFP Radio Free Moscow for a description of this legislation and its testimony and deliberations, Senate Resources Committee Approves Drilling Ordinance Pre-emption Law.