North Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado have asked a federal judge in Casper, Wyoming to issue a preliminary injunction against the federal Bureau of Land Management’s new Hydraulic Fracturing Rule.
The rule is supposed to take effect June 24th.
“We contend that the federal government, through the BLM, is proceeding to usurp authority that belongs to the state of North Dakota, notwithstanding there are specific federal statutes that prohibit the federal government from regulating hydraulic fracturing,” said North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.
Stenehjem says the proposed rules are duplicative, and in some cases weaker than the rules North Dakota has in place. He says one example is the issue of open pits.
“And we decided we weren’t going to allow open pits any more," said Stenehjem. "The federal fracking rules do allow it. That is weaker than what we have in North Dakota.”
A hearing will be held on the motion for a preliminary injunction June 23rd.