House votes to restrict federal regulation of fracing

News
November 21, 2013
Nick Snow
 
The US House of Representatives approved legislation largely along party lines to keep the US Bureau of Land Management from imposing its own hydraulic fracturing regulations in states that already have their own requirements.
 
HR 2728 passed by 235 to 187 votes, following heated debate. Democrats charged it would keep drinking water supplies from being adequately protected and not let the federal government enforce existing regulations. Republicans argued it would help unconventional oil and gas production continue to grow safely without excessive, duplicative rules.
 
“States have successfully, efficiently, and safely been regulating this process for the past 60 years and imposing a ‘one-size-fits-all’ federal regulatory structure, as the Obama administration is attempting to do, is both unnecessary and simply will not work,” Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said following the Nov. 20 vote.
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Christopher Guith, vice-president of policy at the US Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, said, “Today’s vote in the House sends a strong signal against federal government interference in America’s most promising economic opportunity: energy development. We appreciate the support of a bipartisan majority of House members and look forward to working with Congress to ensure a policy framework that will allow our nation to take full advantage of our energy opportunities.”
 
Read the full article at Oil & Gas Journal.