A federal judge in Wyoming ruled in favor of Colorado and other Western states and organizations and has suspended the new fracking rules until lawsuits against the federal government are resolved.
The rules were set to take effect Wednesday.
Can we get an Amen from the choir?
Here’s the announcement from Attorney General Cynthia Coffman’s office:
“We are pleased the court agreed that the new BLM regulations present serious and difficult questions that justified a stay of these rules’ effective date,” said Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman. “We believe these rules intrude on Colorado’s sovereign right to responsibly and safely regulate the oil and gas industry within our borders.”
The states’ lawsuit raises a straightforward legal question: whether BLM can impose its own regulations on hydraulic fracturing, even though federal law does not give it that power, and instead, allows states to regulate in this area.
This is a significant victory for state authority versus federal intrusion. It’s too bad Gov. Hickenlooper and his Department of Natural Resources were on the wrong side of this issue.