WASHINGTON, DC – Energy In Depth executive director Lee Fuller issued the following statement on the announcement that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie indicated support today for a one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing – a tightly-regulated 60-year-old technology used to enhance natural gas and oil development – in the Garden State:

“It’s unfortunate and ill-advised that Gov. Christie would seek to ban the regulated use of hydraulic fracturing for any period of time, a technology that has been used safely for generations not only in the context of oil and natural gas, but to stimulate water wells and gain access to geothermal energy.

“As the Garden State’s natural gas demands continue to tick upward, and with the governor touting the clear benefits of this abundant homegrown resource, banning this time-tested technology in the state – where no operators are actively seeking to explore for natural gas – flies directly in the face of common sense.”

Upon the bill’s passage from the New Jersey State Legislature, Mr. Fuller wrote this in a letter to Gov. Christie in July: “While a statewide ban on this technology is not likely to have a material impact on development activities in your state, it could be used by opponents of affordable, reliable energy as a tool to push for implementing similarly destructive, ill-informed moratoria in other states. In view of that potential, we write today to express our strong opposition to the bill.”