“This will be another burden on the operators in Wyoming if adopted.”
The Billings Gazette reports:
A first look at what could be the first federal rules for hydraulic fracturing is drawing mixed reactions in Wyoming.
A Wyoming oil and gas industry representative says not-yet-released federal rules for the practice, also known as fracking, look similar to state rules and could burden operators if enacted. But a representative from a landowner group says the rules will force operators to tell regulators about water used in the controversial practice, unlike Wyoming rules.
A draft of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management rules, obtained by the Star-Tribune, indeed look similar to Wyoming’s rules that govern the practice, confirmed Tom Doll, Wyoming’s oil and natural gas supervisor.
Such regulations are new to many states, because only a handful — including Wyoming and Colorado — regulate fracking at the state level, despite mounting furor over concerns the practice could hurt groundwater. But the rules aren’t new in Wyoming, which began regulating the practice in 2010 with rules that have proved a template for other states, including some who have adopted less strict disclosure requirements…
Increased regulation never facilitates economic development. The only ‘jobs’ created are involved in compliance, and are paid for by increased taxation, which adds further friction to the economy.