(WTAJ) -- After the Presidential Debate on Tuesday, which focused on a number of topics, Pennsylvania residents and voters may be wondering if a sitting president can ban fracking.
First, what exactly is fracking? During the debate both candidates, Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, said that the issue of fracking was important because they were in Pennsylvania.
Fracking is the technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fracking fluid" into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep rock, where natural gas, petroleum and brine can flow freely.
The effects of fracking can cause contamination of drinking water, disruptions in the surrounding ecosystem and effects on human health.
Can a sitting president ban fracking?
Looking specifically at Pennsylvania, as the candidates did, the short answer is no, a president cannot ban fracking. However, there is more to the way Congress and the president work with each other that sheds better light on the situation.
When candidates or even the sitting president talks about "banning fracking," they mean on federal land. States, like Pennsylvania, have no federal land to frack on. Most leases are on private land, something that a president cannot touch with a federal ban.
The President of the United States only has permission to do the things that the Constitution has granted or that Congress has granted. So since Congress hasn't given the president permission to ban fracking, most would believe that it is a clear-cut case.
However, although it seems simple, there is more to it than just federal versus private and what powers the president has. The president does have the ability to make the process difficult for energy producers, such as slowing down permit decisions and grant allocations, restricting leasing or imposing a number of "red tape" policies.
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Presidents can also regulate fracking under the terms of public health, due to the believed adverse effects of the work. For example, a regulation mandating chemical substitution is more likely to hold up in the long run than a federal ban.
So, can a sitting president ban fracking? As with most things with politics, the answer is convoluted. Will either candidate ban fracking? It is best to look towards their previous policies to get an understanding of where they stand, however, of course, past policies are never a distinct roadmap of what they may do in the future.