The Durham County Board of Commissioners will not discuss the so-called “fracking” issue at tonight’s meeting as earlier indicated.

Fracking refers to hydraulic fracturing, a technology used in conjunction with horizontal drilling to tap into underground natural gas deposits trapped in shale rock formations. North Carolina is believed to have about 40 years of shale gas around Lee, Chatham, Moore and other central counties.

The commissioners are awaiting a full report from their appointed Environmental Affairs Board that has not yet been completed, Durham County officials announced this morning. That report is expected in another few weeks.

So far most of the discussion about "fracking" has been limited to Lee, Moore, and Chatham counties. But legislation pending in the General Assembly does not restrict drilling to a designated "fracking zone," Progress NC reports on its website. A map from the N.C. Department of Natural Resources shows potential for natural gas deposits all over the Triangle and Piedmont area of North Carolina. Two-thirds of Durham County and even Jordan Lake, a major source of drinking water, appears to be in the fracking zone, Progress NC says.

For more information on the Durham commissioners’ agenda this evening at 7 p.m., visit the Durham County website at www.durhamcountync.gov.