BISMARCK -- The state of North Dakota will join a lawsuit alleging overreach in the federal government new hydraulic fracturing regulations, the state Industrial Commission voted Tuesday.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem told Gov. Jack Dalrymple that Wyoming's claims in its existing lawsuit reflect North Dakota's interests. If a judge accepts the motion to intervene, the state of North Dakota would become a party in the suit, which was filed March 26 in the federal district of Wyoming.
"It seems like this is the sensible thing to do," Dalrymple said. "I think that Wyoming is a good case to intervene in. They have a kind of similar perspective on the situation and that's always helpful."
Regulators in oil and gas states such as Wyoming and North Dakota balked at the Department of the Interior's new rule for the Bureau of Land Management's regulation of fracking on federal and Indian lands, claiming it takes jurisdiction away from states that already have sound regulations in place. Officials also say the rule will slow development.
Arguments against the BLM regulation include that it contradicts the Administrative Procedure Act.
ADVERTISEMENT
The attorney general also briefed Dalrymple on several other federal laws, including the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Mineral Leasing Act, that the new regulations allegedly contradict.
Stenehjem and Dalrymple voted to authorize Stenehjem's office to intervene in Wyoming's suit, and to authorize the state Department of Mineral Resources to spend money on the litigation from a fund set aside for that purpose.
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, the third member of the commission, was absent. from the special meeting. Goehring is in China on a trade mission.
Stenehjem said a downside to the state filing its own suit, an option still being considered, is that it could later be combined with similar cases in other states, leaving North Dakota with less control over the outcome.
The state plans to file a motion to intervene in Wyoming's suit Wednesday, Stenehjem said.
Two oil and gas industry groups were the first to file a lawsuit against the rules, but Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said the Industrial Commission was hesitant to join an industry suit.
He said intervening in Wyoming's suit ensures North Dakota has a seat at the table in any future negotiations or settlement.
