New Jersey lawmakers could vote this week to ban the natural gas drilling technique known as “fracking.”
But it would be a symbolic vote because there's hardly any natural gas under the state.
The only other state where lawmakers have voted to ban the practice is New York. The measure there was vetoed and replaced with a temporary moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.
New Jersey's Assembly is scheduled to take up the ban on Wednesday. No vote is scheduled in the state Senate. Gov. Chris Christie has not said whether he would sign a ban.
Hydraulic fracturing is a major issue in neighboring Pennsylvania where energy companies are racing to drill as lawmakers debate how to regulate and tax them.
A proposal to tax natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale will be debated on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Gov. Tom Corbertt said Tuesday that he would veto any such levy if it's approved.
Politics
Many environmentalists say the drilling process endangers groundwater.
