The environmental dangers of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” as it is known are widely reported on by the media.

Besides the unprecedented exemptions from federal environmental law that the gas industry enjoys, they also enjoy the power to abuse personal property rights.

This is being debated and decided in North Carolina right now. Personal property rights are dear to all Americans.

(Therese Vick is the North Carolina Healthy, Sustainable Communities Campaign Coordinator of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. She writes from Raleigh)

The lands we farm and live on are our legacy, and tell the story of our lives.

Brick and mortar structures become home, a place where family history is made and remembered; giving us a sense of place and safety that is often elusive in these difficult times.

However, the gas industry, with the power and might of the government, can take those rights away. Three major property rights issues face landowners if fracking is allowed in North Carolina.

Forced Pooling: Forced pooling occurs when a landowner is compelled into a “pool” of other landowners and forced to sell their gas resources whether they wish to or not.

They might be waiting for the price to get better, for better landowner protections, or to leave the gas deposits to their grandchildren. It does not matter what their reason is for not wanting to sell their resource, the gas companies can petition the State to compel the individual into the pool. This is strictly for the benefit and profitability of the industry.

Split Estates: A split (or severed) estate is when the surface (top) estate has been separated from the mineral (bottom) estate sometime during the life of the property.

Up until very recently (2012), severed property was not required to be disclosed to unwitting buyers, and many inherited their homes and land in this condition.

This phenomenon is common in the West; my father owns such property in Colorado. However, there are over 9,000 acres of split estates in Lee County North Carolina, with more being identified, as well as severed properties in Anson, Moore and Chatham counties.

Eminent Domain: Eminent domain is being used across the country to develop pipelines and other infrastructure for the oil and gas industry.

Although property rights issues around fracking are currently being studied in North Carolina, there are no protections in place for vulnerable landowners, and it is unclear if decision makers have the political will to go against anything the natural gas industry wants.

In 1775, signer of the US Constitution William Samuel Johnson said, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

The gas industry waves the flag constantly promoting this “homegrown” energy resource, all the while taking rights away from Americans and building export terminals as fast as they can.

Forced pooling and other property rights abuses should not be allowed in North Carolina, and those who own or live on split estates must be protected.