Ruling on Fracking Rules Shows Congress Must Act Now

Washington, D.C. - In response to the decision by U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl, stating that the Bureau of Land Management can’t set rules for fracking on federal lands because Congress hasn’t granted it authority to do so, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued the following statement:

“We have Dick Cheney and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to thank for this ruling that federal agencies cannot implement regulations to protect us from fracking. According to the ruling, the 2005 Energy Policy Act expressly removed federal agency authority to regulate fracking. This ruling indicates more starkly than ever the urgent need for Congress to undo the harmful policies enacted under that legislation and provide our agencies with the power to do what they were created to do—protect our resources, our lands, and our communities from harm.

“Furthermore, the fact is, there are no regulations that can adequately protect our lands and communities from fracking – the practice must simply be banned. Legislation already introduced in Congress, known as the Protect Our Public Lands Act (POPLA), would ban fracking on all of our nation’s treasured public lands. The bill has dozens of sponsors, and now is the time for legislators to pass this bill and put it on the President’s desk.”

Contact: Seth Gladstone - sgladstone[at]fwwatch[dot]org, 347.778.2866