Posted February 2nd, 2021 for WildEarth Guardians Santa Fe, NM—Today New Mexico Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-16) introduced the “Pause Fracking for Protections” bill, SB 149 , which would pause the state’s approval of new fracking permits for four years in order to provide New Mexicans and elected officials a more complete understanding of industrialized fracking’s impact on local communities, land, air, water, public health and safety, and increased economic resilience. It also includes a definition of “multi-stage hydraulic fracking” and “horizontal drilling” in the Oil and Gas Act. The bill’s introduction follows President Biden’s recent executive order pausing new oil and gas leasing on federal land.