Obama Fracking Rule Blocked

The drafting of the fracking rules began in Obama’s first term, when breakthroughs in technology led to an increase in the production of oil and gas. A judge has blocked new nationwide regulations for oil and gas drilling on federal lands while a lawsuit moves forward.

“The fracking rule creates an overlapping federal regime, in the absence of congressional authority to do so, which interferes with the states’ sovereign interests in, and public policies related to, regulation of hydraulic fracturing”, the judge wrote.

In a 53-page opinion, Skavdahl cast doubt on the federal government’s ability to issue the rule. Colorado’s challenge was brought by state Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, and that challenge isn’t supported by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

When they announced the rule, Interior Department officials said it was meant to protect the environment and update old federal standards in light of new fracking technologies.

So far, studies have linked fracking operations to drought conditions, water contamination and earthquakes.

Two petroleum industry groups, the Ute Tribe and four states – Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and North Dakota – seek to block the rules, saying they duplicate state regulations and would cost jobs. During the Bush administration, fracking was largely exempted from federal regulation unless diesel fuel was also being pumped into the ground, though the extent of that exemption remains the subject of debate.

“At this point, the Court does not believe Congress has granted or delegated to the [Bureau of Land Management] authority to regulate fracking”, Judge Scott Skavdahl, an Obama appointee, wrote in his preliminary injunction against the Department of the Interior.

“While the matter is being resolved, the BLM will follow the Court’s order and will continue to process applications for permit to drill and inspect well sites under its pre-existing regulations,” the agency said in a statement. The complaint characterizes BLM’s rulemaking as “a reaction to unsubstantiated concerns” and requests the regulations be set aside because the administrative record lacks the factual, scientific, or engineering evidence necessary to sustain the agency’s action.

The judge’s ruling will be observed by the BLM while the case plays out in court, the Interior Department, which has jurisdiction over the BLM, told.

The judge agreed with their argument that Congress has not given the federal Bureau of Land Management the authority to regulate fracking, the process of injecting a mixture of water, chemicals and proppant, such as sand, into shale deep underground. “Rather than blocking these protections and letting the gas industry endanger our health, our communities and our wildlife, we need to focus on growing our clean energy economy and holding polluters accountable”, said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, one of the environmental groups that intervened in the lawsuit on the government’s behalf.