The debate over the benefits and risks associated with hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), a method of drilling for natural gas, continues to rage in North Carolina. Research shows that several North Carolina counties, including Lee, Chatham, Durham, Granville, Moore and Wake, are sitting on a large amount of natural gas as a result of the large amount of shale rock in the region. The General Assembly approved legislation earlier this year for a nonprofit organization to study this issue and provide a report to the General Assembly next spring. That study is currently underway. The question that continues to loom in the minds of local governments and energy companies alike, is whether any future legislation in North Carolina allowing and/or regulating fracking would permit local governments to restrict fracking in their respective jurisdictions through the use of their zoning and/or police power. Obviously, it is premature to speculate how the General Assembly will address the issue of local regulation, however, many other states and local governments are currently wrestling with this issue in both the court of law and public opinion.