On January 31, 2020, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), together with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Representative Darren Soto (D-Fla.) unveiled a bill (the “Bill”) that, if passed, would prohibit hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) nationwide.

Specifically, the Bill would immediately prohibit any federal agency from approving any federal permit for fracking.  The Bill would also require all federal operating permits for fracking operations conducted within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, and any other inhabited structure to be revoked by the year 2021.  Finally, the Bill would prohibit fracking for oil and natural gas on all onshore and offshore land in the United States beginning in the year 2025.

Fracking has become a subject of debate in recent years.  In late 2019, California joined several other states that have sought to eliminate fracking by instituting a moratorium on fracking. (A brief synopsis of California’s recent fracking moratorium can be found HERE. By introducing the Bill, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez appear to be following the trend of other states.

A copy of the Bill can be accessed HERE.

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