Western States With Big Budget Holes Will Bear The Brunt Of Biden Fracking Ban

Western States With Big Budget Holes Will Bear The Brunt Of Biden Fracking Ban

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES - 2019/05/22: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) speaking at The ... [+] Center for American Progress CAP 2019 Ideas Conference. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)



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With former Vice President Joe Biden apparently about to assume the presidency in a little over a month, speculation in the energy space has focused on his promise to ban hydraulic fracturing - or “fracking” - on federal lands and the negative impacts such a ban would likely have on the economies of states in the Intermountain West.



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The immediate impacts from Biden's ban could range from fairly minor to quite severe, depending on how it is structured. For example, the new president could decide to grandfather in all pre-existing federal leases and only apply a ban prospectively to new leases. But if it wants to play hardball, he could order his Interior Department to the added “no fracking” condition of approval to every subsequent permit to drill issued even under pre-existing leases, thereby greatly enhancing the impact.

Regardless, it's important to note that the economies in the oil producing states