Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) responded to the Federal District Court of Wyoming decision to uphold the preliminary injunction on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule, which stated that, “Congress has not authorized or delegated to the BLM authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing and, under our constitutional structure, it is only through Congressional action that the BLM can acquire this authority.”

“The BLM’s hydraulic fracturing rule will cause major harm to states, industry, and the American people if implemented, so much so that the Wyoming District Court blocked the implementation until further analysis,” Bishop said. “This judicial decision is the right decision because it stops the Obama Administration from shoving this harmful policy down the states’ throats. This decision and the testimony from today’s hearing from four Western Governors solidifies that this rule is both unjustified and unconstitutional.”

At the Natural Resources Committee hearing today, Governors Gary Herbert (UT) and Matt Mead (WY) agreed that the BLM never alleged that state regulation of hydraulic fracturing on federal land was insufficient. Gov. Mead said, “We have shown leadership and other states have shown leadership…one way you can get more money [for energy] is to… let the states regulate where they have proven to do so well.”

Please click here for more information regarding the hearing.

###