Hoeven Statement on Federal Court Decision to Strike Down BLM's Fracking Rule

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming struck down the U.S. Department of the Interior’s proposed hydraulic fracturing rule, administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM):

“States have been managing hydraulic fracturing with good environmental stewardship for decades,” Hoeven said. “This regulation would have duplicated these local efforts, adding layers of bureaucracy and threatening to increase costs for producers and consumers without added benefits. Further, by restricting and delaying development on public lands, this rule would have severely reduced royalties to federal and state government. Thankfully, Judge Scott Skavdahl with the U.S. District Court in Wyoming has ruled what we have argued all along – that the Interior Department and the BLM do not have the authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing. We will continue working to empower our nation’s energy development through a states-first approach, which will help to ensure regulatory certainty and environmental quality.”

The case against BLM’s final rule, which was issued last March, was brought by four states, including North Dakota, and the Ute Indian Tribe. As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations and Energy Committees, Hoeven has worked to prevent unnecessary and costly regulations, including the BLM’s hydraulic fracturing rule, the Waters of the U.S. rule and others, from being imposed on energy producers and other industries.

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