Fracking is becoming a big deal in the Democratic Senate race

Reid Frazier

Recent Stories

Reid R. Frazier is an energy reporter for The Allegheny Front, a Pittsburgh-based public media outlet covering the environment in Pennsylvania. His work has aired on NPR and Marketplace.

April 8, 2016 | 3:41 PM

$Democratic Senate candidate Kathleen McGinty has been drawing criticism from her competitors over her handling of the fracking boom during her time as Secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Ed Rendell.$

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Democratic Senate candidate Kathleen McGinty has been drawing criticism from her competitors over her handling of the fracking boom during her time as Secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Ed Rendell.

It’s fueled a drilling boom in the U.S. Now, fracking is becoming fodder on the campaign trail.
The three leading Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Pat Toomey have been sparring over the past few weeks over environmental issues—particularly fracking.
Former Congressman and Navy Rear Admiral Joe Sestak and Braddock Mayor John Fetterman have both called for a moratorium on fracking until regulations are tightened. Katie McGinty, former chief of staff for Governor Tom Wolf, does not support a moratorium.
“I’m for a moratorium on fracking,” Sestak told WPSU’s public affairs program Take Note recently. “How can you ever do something where the solicitor general has said our Department of [Environmental] Protection (DEP) wasn’t prepared to oversee the drilling?”
Sestak was referring to a 2014 Pennsylvania solicitor general’s report that found the DEP provided inconsistent and inadequate oversight over the fracking industry.
Read the full story from the Allegheny Front…