WASHINGTON — Fracking has emerged as a hot button issue of the 2020 election, with President Donald Trump claiming his political rival will cripple the economy in politically important states such as Pennsylvania by putting an end to the well extraction technique, despite Joe Biden's assertions to the contrary.
There's good reason it's getting so much attention: Hydraulic fracturing is used to coax oil and gas out of roughly 95% of U.S. wells, according to government data.
While Biden has called for prohibiting new oil and gas projects on federal land, the candidate has made it clear he does not support a widespread ban on fracking — which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals underground to free oil and gas from dense rock formations.
Even if Biden wanted to, he couldn't unilaterally ban fracking on private lands. Under a 2005 law, the Environmental Protection Agency has almost no regulatory power over fracking. Changing that would require an act of Congress.
