Oregon Senate Passes Five-Year Moratorium on Fracking

For Immediate Release—May 29, 2019

Contact: Thomas Meyer, (360) 460-7397, [email protected]

Salem—Today, the Oregon Senate passed a five-year moratorium on fracking by a vote of 17-11. In March, the Oregon House passed a 10-year moratorium, that was amended by the Senate committee. The bill will now return to the House for final consideration.

The fracking process injects a high-pressure mix of toxic chemicals into underground shale rock to extract fossil fuels. It poses serious risks to public health and to drinking water. While there are currently no fracking operations in Oregon, there is potential for the process to be used in across the state.

In response to the vote Food & Water Watch Regional Organizing Manager Thomas Meyer issued this statement:

“Moving this fracking moratorium forward is a huge accomplishment for Oregon communities in protecting our water, health and climate. The Oregon House should immediately pass this bill and send it to Governor Brown’s desk. Study after study shows that fracking poses severe threats to drinking water, air quality and public health, not to mention the global climate that we all depend on. This type of dangerous fossil fuel extraction could come to as many as 14 counties across the state.

“Unfortunately, the Senators kicked the can down the road by shortening the moratorium to five years. If policy makers are serious about addressing the climate crisis, they should ban fracking once and for all, here in Oregon and across the country.”

If the bill goes into law, Oregon would join New York, Vermont, Maryland, and Washington which have all banned fracking. Food and Water Watch was the first organization to call for a national ban on fracking.

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