How a President Can Use Regulatory Levers to Slow Fracking

Only Congress can prohibit hydraulic fracturing and only on federal lands, but an administration can make permitting more arduous and expensive.

Workers change pipes at Consol Energy Horizontal Gas Drilling Rig exploring the Marcellus Shale outside the town of Waynesburg, Pa., on April 13, 2012. Mladen Antonov /AFP via Getty Images

Who will and who won’t ban fracking has emerged as a source of contention within the broader energy policy debate in the 2024 presidential election pitting Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.

Much of this discussion lacks a nuance voters should understand.