An opinion study conducted by the Ohio River Valley Institute found that Pennsylvanians support stricter regulations on fracking, splitting from many politicians who uncritically support the industry. Of the 700 likely PA voters who were polled, 45% identified as Democrats, 47% identified as Republicans, and 8% identified as Independents.
The study found that nine in ten Pennsylvania voters support stricter regulations on fracking.
When looking at what type of regulations voters would support, 94% said they want companies to disclose chemicals used in drilling operations, 93% want safer transportation of fracking waste to be required, 92% of participants want air monitoring near fracking wells, and 90% want an increased “setback” distances from schools and hospitals.
The main concern that participants had is the environmental impact of fracking. 86% and 82% said they are concerned about water and air pollution. Nearly eight in ten say they worry about the effects of pollution on the health of their families and communities, and more than four in ten (43%) say fracking harms air and water quality.
When it comes to a complete ban on fracking, those who were surveyed were mixed. 42% of people said that they support a complete ban on the practice, while half said they oppose fracking or are on the fence about it. 19% said that they somewhat oppose fracking, 11% said they strongly oppose fracking, and 19% said they are not sure. When it came to other energy sources that could be used, 80% of participants supported solar energy, and 73% supported wind energy. The vast number of participants said that they would want taxpayer dollars to go towards investment in wind and solar energy.
During the presidential race, fracking has become a key issue for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they look to win Pennsylvania. In an interview with KDKA-TV earlier this month, Harris said, “I will not ban fracking. I did not as vice president. In fact, I cast the tie-breaking vote to open up more fracking leases. And my perspective on this is grounded in a number of things, including that we don’t have to ban fracking to do the work that we can do to also invest in a clean energy economy.”
Trump, meanwhile, has said that his administration will “lift restrictions on American Energy Production and terminate the Socialist Green New Deal. Republicans will unleash Energy Production from all sources, including nuclear, to immediately slash Inflation and power American homes, cars, and factories with reliable, abundant, and affordable Energy.” It should be noted that the Green New Deal has not been passed and that the U.S. nuclear energy industry has supplied about 20% of total annual U.S. electricity since 1990.. Trump has also claimed that because Harris supported a ban on fracking when she ran for president in 2020 she would ban fracking in Pennsylvania, which is not something a president can do.
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Both candidates do seem to think that fracking is important for Pennsylvania’s economy, which the ORVI disagrees with. Since 2008, the organization found that the 22 largest gas-producing counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia have lost a collective 100,000 jobs, even while production was outpacing expectations. The oil and gas industry also only made up a little under 1.5% of PA’s total industry in 2021, and nearly half of that number came from workers at gas stations and convenience stores with gas stations.
The ORVI is a non-profit research group that was founded in 2020 to give voters and politicians research that will inform them how to advance long-term solutions in the region. According to its mission statement, the ORVI “supports communities in the region working to advance a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia.” They hope that the research that they find will “improve the economic performance and standards of living for the greater Ohio River Valley.”
