Federal Court Blocks Obama Administration’s Fracking Rule
Judge says Interior Department lacks legal authority to issue oil and natural-gas standard
ENLARGERig hands thread
together drilling pipe on the deck of an EQT Corp super triple fracking
rig drilling for natural gas in Washington Township, Pa., in October
2013. The Obama administration’s rules set stricter standards for
disposing of wastewater and disclosing chemicals used in the fracking
process on federal land.
Photo:
Ty Wright/Bloomberg News
U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl issued a preliminary injunction barring implementation of the rules, saying the Interior Department lacked the authority to issue them.
The rules, issued by department’s Bureau of Land Management in March, apply to oil and gas drilling on federal lands, which produce 11% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. and 5% of the oil, according to government data. Much of this drilling is concentrated in Western states, such as Colorado and Wyoming, two of the states challenging the standards. More than 90% of new land-based wells in the U.S. use hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking.
“Congress has not authorized or delegated to the BLM authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing and, under our constitutional structure, it is only through congressional action that the BLM can acquire this authority,” the judge wrote.
The government could appeal the order. A spokeswoman for the Interior Department said the agency is consulting with the Justice Department about the decision.
“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,” she said.
In late August, another federal judge blocked an Environmental Protection Agency rule that seeks to put more bodies of water and wetlands under federal protection.
Fracking involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into a well to break up dense rock and release oil and gas. Energy companies have employed the technology for decades, but increased use of it has helped unlock vast reserves of oil and gas across the U.S. in recent years. Fracking is controversial among environmentalists and some landowners, who worry about water contamination and continued dependence on fossil fuels.
The rules set stricter standards for disposing of wastewater and disclosing chemicals used in fracking and were slated to go into effect this summer.
The same Wyoming judge delayed implementation of the regulations until he decided whether to block them during the litigation mounted by the Western states and energy trade groups, which cheered Wednesday’s order.
“We are overjoyed that we are finally getting relief from the courts regarding the regulatory overreach of the Obama administration,” said Kathleen Sgamma, vice president of government and public affairs at Western Energy Alliance, an association representing more than 400 energy companies, such as Encana Corp., Devon Energy Corp. and Halliburton Co. The alliance is a party to the lawsuit against the government.
Referring to last month’s court order blocking EPA’s water rule, Ms. Sgamma added: “We hope BLM, EPA and other agencies that are rushing to implement even more regulations on the very businesses that create jobs will pause and actually follow the law and regulatory procedure.”
Environmentalists criticized the court order. “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.
Drilling on private or state-owned land wasn’t subject to the new federal standards, but federal officials have said they hope the Interior Department’s fracking rule could provide a common baseline throughout the U.S., an effort that Wednesday’s ruling casts doubt on. Most energy-producing states such as Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas regulate fracking already, but there are no national standards.
