The Obama Administration’s 2015 federal rule from the Bureau of Land Management of the Department of Interior to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands has been struck down by a Wyoming federal district court judge.
The Bureau of Land Management had sought the rule authority to set federal standards for well construction, underground hydraulic fracturing requirements, wastewater management, public disclosure requirements for fracturing fluid constituents and other requirements. States have traditionally regulated such matters of underground oil/gas development under state jurisdiction, rather than the Department of Interior.
The States of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and North Dakota, together with the Ute Indian Tribe, brought the present federal court civil action petitioning that the federal BLM hydraulic fracturing rule be set aside.
On June 21, 2016, Federal District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl [Wyoming federal district] issued this order setting aside the DOI-BLM hydraulic fracturing rule. Judge Skavdahl was appointed by President Obama in 2011.
Skavdahl concluded that Congress did not delegate authority to DOI-BLM to regulate hydraulic fracturing, notwithstanding the Obama Administration claims of broad authority over oil/gas operations on public lands.
An appeal to the Tenth Circuit is pending on a preliminary ruling by Skavhahl in the case, but that appeal may be mooted by the present decision and order, which may be appealed by DOI-BLM or any of the respondents in the case.