Shale basin might give us gas.

• Position: Triangle

It turns out that the General Assembly might not be the biggest source of natural gas in the Triangle. State geological experts say significant deposits could be trapped less than a mile deep under parts of Lee, Chatham, Durham, Wake and Orange counties. But winning support for resource exploration in such an eco-conscious region might prove almost as difficult as getting BP a new permit for offshore drilling.

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Nobody knows for sure how much is down there. Some published reports say it's enough to fill the state's needs for the next 40 years. The reserves are in vast underground formations called shale basins. Until about a decade ago, getting gas out of them wasn't economically feasible. But two new technologies have turned previously ignored shale basins in the U.S., Europe, Brazil and elsewhere into big producers.

Now it could be North Carolina's turn. "We know how thin the [shale basin] layers are at some spots," state geologist James Simons says. "We know what typically this size layer produces. And we know what other states have done with similar deposits." Two wells drilled in the 1980s and later abandoned show the presence of natural gas. In May, Simons was planning a trip to Pittsburgh to study the effects of drilling there "There has been a good number of these wells drilled, and there are only a few horror stories."

Already environmental groups are raising red flags. Molly Diggins...