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{{#badges: CoalSwarmFrackSwarm|Navbar-fracking}} On April 12, 2012, the Vermont Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted unanimously for a bill that would ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the state. The bill (H.464) was amended by the Senate Committee after passing the House of Representatives as a three year moratorium. The updated bill prohibits the use of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Vermont, requests regular reports from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and prohibits collection, storage, or treatment of fracking wastewater in the state. The bill still needs to be passed by the full Senate and then reconciled with the House version before it becomes law.<ref>[http://vtdigger.org/2012/04/13/vermont-senate-committee-passes-ban-on-fracking/ "Vermont Senate committee passes ban on fracking,"] VTDigger.org, April 12, 2012.</ref>
On May 4, 2012 the Vermont House of Representatives voted 103-36 in favor of banning hydraulic fracturing to extract oil or natural gas in Vermont. The bill passed the Vermont State Senate earlier in the week. As a result, Vermont became the first state in the nation to ban the practice of fracking.<ref>[http://vtdigger.org/2012/05/04/vermont-first-state-in-nation-to-ban-fracking-for-oil-and-gas/ "Vermont first state in nation to ban fracking for oil and gas"] VT Digger, Carl Etnier, May 4, 2012.</ref>