Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation: Exempt Wyoming From Federal Fracking Rules

U.S. Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis all (R-WY), Monday  wrote Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, requesting an exemption for Wyoming and other states currently regulating hydraulic fracturing from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule on hydraulic fracturing.

In their letter, the delegation explains how BLM’s proposed fracking rule is duplicative and will significantly delay and discourage oil and gas permitting and production on our nation’s public lands. They explain that Secretary Jewell has been unable to say that states currently regulating hydraulic fracturing are not doing a sufficient job.

On June 6^th, 2013, in response to a question from Senator Barrasso at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Secretary Jewell stated that Wyoming is “a good example of a state doing an effective job” regulating hydraulic fracturing.

On July 17^th, 2013, in response to a question from Representative Lummis at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Secretary Jewell stated that Wyoming has “great, sophisticated” hydraulic fracturing regulations. The public comment period for BLM’s hydraulic fracturing rule closes on Friday, August 23^rd.