CARY - Town staff and leaders are wrestling with a question that's becoming more common in North Carolina: Are we ready for fracking, the controversial natural gas extraction technique?

The answer may arrive this summer, after the state government publishes more research on the topic, according to Steve Brown, director of Public Works and Utilities. Following a unanimous Cary Town Council vote, town staff and lower board members have begun to unravel the risks and rewards for Cary.

Staff and council members are asking too whether they should move before the state legislature potentially lifts a ban on the practice.

If Cary does take action, it could be among the first local governments in this state to attempt to regulate fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, where water and chemicals are pumped underground to extract natural gas from deep rock formations.

Dozens of towns in Pennsylvania and other states have passed their own ordinances and restrictions, in some cases resulting in costly legal challenges from the oil and gas industry.

Fracking already has keyed debate across North Carolina, which some say contains a 40-year supply of natural gas in its deep shale deposits, mostly around Lee, Chatham and Moore counties. While fracking, gas companies drill a mile down into the Earth and up to a mile horizontally, then pulverize shale with a high-pressure injection of chemicals and water.

Cary sits on the outer fringe of the state's shale basin, far from the gas-rich zone to the west.

But with the details of fracking still unclear, local governments, property owners and investors are feeling out their positions - a process made tougher by speculation, potential profits and possible environmental consequences.

Meanwhile the city of Creedmoor, 30 miles north of Cary, has made perhaps the most authoritative statement of any local government on fracking: The Creedmoor City Council voted in September to ban fracking and nonvertical drilling in general. That lines up with current state law, but some lawmakers are hoping to debate the practice during the short session in May.

Research needed

Brown, the Cary employee heading the town's research, signaled last week that the town may wait for further research on fracking before taking similar action. The town staff and two resident-run committees are tasked with mapping the pros, cons and options for fracking.

"This is a broad topic with a lot of complexity and different parts," Brown told the town's Economic Development Commission and Environmental Advisory Board last week. "There are some points we don't understand, and some parts we're starting to get a handle on."

The state of North Carolina is preparing a comprehensive report on the impacts and technical details of fracking, while the U.S. Geological Survey is expected to release a detailed analysis this year on North Carolina's shale gas potential.

A draft of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources report is expected in March.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working on a study of the dangers of fracking, expected in 2014.

"It's a very large issue, almost the 800-pound gorilla, so where do you start?" said Dan McFarland, chair of the Cary's Environmental Advisory Board.

The state legislature, meanwhile, could act to change the fracking ban as early as this summer.

It's unclear to local and state officials, he said, just how viable, if at all, Cary and other local towns will be for the fracking industry.

Cary also is awaiting information on the risks of groundwater contamination and the practice's potential social and economic effects, Brown said.

Benefit for action?

But there may be an advantage to fast action by local governments, according to Randy Cahoon, a city planner for Creedmoor.

By moving before the state legislature, Creedmoor may have strengthened its legal position should the state lift the ban and attempt to override local rules on fracking, Cahoon said.

"The state is not just setting new rules about how you can drill for gas or oil," he said. "The state is actually proposing or considering the possibility of pre-empting local authority."

Cary Councilwoman Lori Bush said she would like to have the town's report in hand before the legislature makes its final moves on the topic.

"We need to understand from staff, legally, what are the things that we can do that can impact (local fracking) positively for the quality of life?" she said. "Does that mean zoning? Does that mean stipulations and requirements on ordinances? What does that look like?"

Staff writer John Murawski contributed to this report.