Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (June 24, 2015) - A federal BLM Hydraulic Fracturing rule was set to go into effect today. If allowed to go forward, this rule would duplicate active state management that has been effectively regulating hydraulic fracturing for decades and responding in recent years to advancing drilling technologies. Yesterday, however, a federal judge in Wyoming district court ordered a stay of the rule until he is able to hear further arguments in pending litigation over the validity of the rule.

Western Caucus Chairman Cynthia Lummis (WY-at large) issued the following statement in response:

“The federal government will be hard pressed to show any benefits of the duplicative red tape they are trying to impose on the states who already regulate hydraulic fracturing,” said Chairman Lummis. “It has long been the purview of the states to regulate drilling and wellhead activities and, as the EPA’s own assessment shows, they have been successful in responding to the recent innovations in hydraulic fracturing. Federal interference will only add unnecessary costs, complications, and delays to the energy production we need to make the United States energy secure. This administration needs to learn that irrational fear is not enough to justify a federal rule.”

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