A federal judge in Wyoming has temporarily stopped regulations governing fracking on federal lands from going into effect. Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce reports for Inside Energy.
U.S. District Court judge Scott Skavdahl (SKAHV-doll) concluded in the injunction that Congress has explicitly prohibited federal agencies from regulating fracking. That’s exactly what states like Wyoming and North Dakota were hoping to hear. They sued the Department of the Interior over the regulations after they were finalized in March, saying existing state and local regulations already protect the public and the environment.
John Robitaille is with the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. He says the injunction is a relief.
“It prevents us from having to do duplicative or even possibly conflicting reporting when we’re drilling a well in a federal action.”
The court’s decision on whether to permanently block the rules is expected later this year.