Senate weighs payments to mineral owners over fracking rules

Brennan Linsley/AP Photo
In this March 25, 2014 photo, a worker oils a pump during a hydraulic fracturing operation at an Encana Corp. well pad near Mead, Colo. The National Petroleum Council estimates that up to 80 percent of natural oil wells drilled in the next decade will require hydraulic fracturing.
Photo: Fracking worker Mead, Colo. (AP Photo)
In this March 25, 2014 photo, a worker oils a pump during a hydraulic fracturing operation at an Encana Corp. well pad near Mead, Colo. The National Petroleum Council estimates that up to 80 percent of natural oil wells drilled in the next decade will require hydraulic fracturing.

Whether more regulations over fracking are needed is expected to be one of the most hotly debated questions lawmakers will take on this legislative session.