wolfCo-author Sandra Mazan

U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl in State of Wyoming et al v. U.S. Department if Interior et al. struck down Bureau of Land Management regulations applying to hydraulic fracking on federal and Indian lands. He concluded that the BLM had no authority from Congress to issue such regulations.

Background

In March 2015, the BLM issued the regulations, which addressed three areas of oil and gas development: wellbore construction, chemical disclosure and water management, each of which is already subject to state or federal regulation. According to BLM, the Rule was enacted in response to public concern about whether fracturing can cause underground water contamination and an increasing need for stronger regulation.  In response, industry proponents (the IPAA, Petroleum Association of America, Western Energy Alliance, the states of Wyoming and Colorado, and intervenors the states of North Dakota and Utah and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation) filed petitions for review of the regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act contending that it should be set aside as:

  • arbitrary,
  • not in accordance with law,
  • in excess of the BLM’s statutory authority, and
  • contrary to the federal trust obligation to Indian tribes.

Court’s Findings

  • Hydraulic fracking does not fall within BLM’s jurisdiction. Existing BLM regulations pertaining to surface disturbance, reporting requirements and pollution to groundwater in oil and gas operations do not evidence BLM’s broad authority to regulate the fracking process.
  • Congress had not delegated authority to BLM to regulate hydraulic fracking.
  • By enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act (the SDWA) in 1974, Congress delegated authority to the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate hydraulic fracking on federal, state, and Indian lands; however, by amendment in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, Congress unambiguously excluded hydraulic fracking operations (not involving diesel fuels) from EPA regulation under the SDWA. (You may thank U.S. Rep. Joe Barton for that provision.)
  • By specifically removing the EPA’s authority to oversee fracking under the SDWA, Congress did not intend for another federal agency (i.e., the BLM) to step in and assume a similar role.

The Takeaways

There are several:

  • There is no statutory authority for a federal agency’s regulation of fracking.
  • Score this as a victory for proper statutory interpretation and the rule of law.
  • And a defeat for federal encroachment into activities already regulated by the states.
  • We’ll have to wait and see if this remains the status quo. The BLM has appealed.

To commemorate this ruling we need a happy song.