Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order today instituting a moratorium on new leases for oil and natural gas drilling on state lands.

Several things are worth pointing out.

First, it is not a ban on fracking on state lands, as has been reported in many news outlets. Governor Wolf’s executive order is clear that it applies to all drilling, not just wells that are hydraulically fractured.

Furthermore, the action only applies to future leases. It does not affect existing leases on state lands, including many with wells that currently are being hydraulically fractured.

Finally, the governor’s action is hardly a surprise. He campaigned on this idea and the executive order fulfills his pledge. That’s democracy, and there is something to be said for an elected official making good on something pledged to voters before an election.

Still, while it may be smart politics, it is bad policy.

Why?

Gov. Wolf justified his decision by saying, “This is about striking the right balance. Our state parks and forests are unique assets that should be preserved, protected, and utilized by our residents for recreational purposes.”

He is right about the need for balance. Most Americans understand that we don’t need to choose between energy production and environmental protection. We can have both.

The way to strike the right balance is with a considered and well-thought-out regulatory approach that governs energy development in a manner that safeguards the environment.

Pennsylvania has such an approach in place. The state’s current regulatory regime governing oil and natural gas drilling ensures that Pennsylvania’s air, lands, and waterways are preserved and protected, and has facilitated soaring energy production in recent years from the state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale.

As the governor said, state lands deserve protection. So do private lands, for that matter. And both have been protected by the laws and regulations currently in place.

The problem with Governor Wolf’s action is that it suggests somehow that well-regulated energy production harms the environment or puts state lands at risk.

There is no evidence to support that charge. Notably, the governor didn’t cite any.

In fact, he took pains to explain that he supports hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania and appreciates what it has done for the state’s economy.

That’s why today’s action is so perplexing.

Governor Wolf’s executive order doesn’t offer balance. It only serves to tip the conversation over energy production and environmental protection in the direction of a false argument – one claiming that fracking and energy production pose unreasonable risks to the environment – that the governor, at heart, doesn’t agree with.