The Obama-era fracking rule will continue to be blocked after a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that it will not reconsider its September decision against the said Obama-era policy.
Short of saying it will just be a waste of time to review the matter again, the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court Appeals said it was not interested in rehearsing arguments to block the Bureau of Land Management’s regulations on hydraulic fracturing or fracking. It already ruled in September that the case was moot since the Interior Department of the Trump administration is moving to repeal the regulation of oil and natural gas drilling on federal lands.
The rule affects oil wells located on public lands that are found mainly in the West. Based on the Trump administration’s regulatory agenda, the Bureau of Land Management plans to repeal Obama’s fracking rule by the end of January.
It has always been the priority of the oil and natural gas industry as well as Republican lawmakers from western states to kill off the fracking rule.
BLM also says that the fracking rule “unnecessarily burdens industry with compliance costs and information requirements that are duplicative of regulatory programs of many states and some tribes.” Their solution is to rescind in its entirety the 2015 Obama final rule on it.
The Obama-rule is known for targeting the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which has made the U.S. the world’s leading producer of energy.
Liberal activists groups are expected to pose legal challenges anew to the Trump administration regarding the repeal of the fracking rule, as with practically all the other new policies of the present administration. The Trump administration is ready to fight back and assert their governance vision that may be contrary to Obama’s time.
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I don't like the idea of breaking up the rock beneath us, and hasn't fracking been linked to pollution of ground water? Bad call in my humble opinion.