In response to the fracking boom, the Obama administration set forth regulations to limit fracking on public and tribal lands. The rules marked the administrations most concerted efforts to control the controversial method of extracting oil and gas. But those regulations have been challenged by oil-friendly states, and have been stalled in federal court for years.
Now, as The Rural Blog reports, the latest court date to decide on the validity of these fracking regulations has been postponed until after Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The upshot is, the Obama administration will no longer be in power, and will not be around to defend its proposed regulations. Back in 2015, a Wyoming district court ruled the federal government doesn’t have the authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public lands. The Obama White House challenged that ruling. But, given the Trump administration’s embrace of the oil industry, it’s likely the challenge was all for naught.