RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gov. Pat McCrory has signed into law a bill that clears the way for permits to be issued for gas drilling by a method called fracking in North Carolina as soon as next spring.

McCrory on Wednesday signed the Energy Modernization Act during an event at North Carolina State University. The measure further refines previous legislation to allow companies to extract oil and gas from the ground by injecting high-pressure mixtures into rock.