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Press Release

BLM Fracing: Courts Provide a Much Needed Check on the Obama Administration’s Overwhelming Regulatory Overreach

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 22, 2016 | Committee Press Office (202-225-2761)

Yesterday, a federal judge struck down the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued in March 2015. The judge stated that DOI does not have the authority to regulate fracing. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released the following statement:

“Like so many other policies from the Obama Administration, this was a blatant overreach of their authority. BLM’s total disregard for the rule of the law was gutted by the courts, and rightly so. The Administration’s regulatory onslaught has left states and communities to pick up the pieces and pay the hefty price for Obama’s radical left-wing agenda.”

“I’m encouraged by yesterday’s decision as today’s science and fracing expertise has allowed communities across the country to thrive. These opportunities help pay for children’s education, support local businesses and strengthen our nation’s energy security. Now we have to wait and see what happens to the many regulations like the BLM’s methane rule just waiting in the wings.”