Will Fracking Be Prohibited in San Luis Potosí? The Proposed Reform in the Local Congress

The environmental debate has escalated to the constitutional level in San Luis Potosí. Deputy Carlos Arreola Mallol presented a constitutional reform initiative to guarantee the right to a healthy environment. The proposal seeks to prohibit extractive practices that generate irreparable damage to nature, including fracking. Additionally, it aims to establish a constitutional criterion for environmental protection at the state level. With this, the issue shifts from the administrative to the constitutional sphere. The reform proposes to incorporate a prohibition on extractive practices that irremediably contaminate or damage the environment and ecological balance of the state. Within this framework, fracking is mentioned as a technique subject to such restriction.

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Fracking in San Luis Potosí: The Technical Method Under Scrutiny

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is used for the extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons. The method requires the injection of millions of liters of water mixed with sand and chemical compounds at high pressure into the subsoil. According to technical warnings and scientific studies cited by the proponent, the process carries risks of fluid leaks into aquifers. Furthermore, it implies intensive water use in regions with

Water, Air, and Earthquakes: Impacts Associated with Fracking

Among the identified risks is aquifer contamination. Pollutant emissions into the atmosphere and noise pollution in operational areas are also reported. Added to this is the migration of gases and chemical products to the surface, with potential health effects. Likewise, the technique has been linked to increases in induced seismic activity in areas with intensive operations.

What Would Change in the Local Constitution?

The initiative proposes that, to guarantee the right to a healthy environment, all extractive practices that irremediably contaminate or damage the natural environment of San Luis Potosí be prohibited. The adjustment is proposed in Article 15 of the local Constitution. According to the legislator, environmental law would operate as an exclusion criterion for projects with irreversible damage. The scope is limited to the state’s constitutional framework. The proposal was forwarded to the Constitutional Affairs and Ecology and Environment commissions for analysis.