DENVER — The state of North Dakota filed a request June 10 for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to prevent the BLM Hydraulic Fracturing Rule from going into effect June 24.

The U.S.  District Court for the District of Wyoming will hearing the request for a preliminary injunction and a separate request from the states of Wyoming and Colorado June 23. The rule creates standards for fracking on public or American Indian land. Opponents claim the new regulations carry an annual cost of almost $97,000 per new well.

States’ rights

North Dakota intervened in the case to protect its sovereign interests and the property and fiscal interests of the state and its citizens. As the second largest producer of oil and natural gas in the United States, North Dakota says it has a sovereign interest in regulating hydraulic fracturing within its borders to ensure both the responsible and efficient development of oil and gas resources and the protection of the State’s groundwater resources.

North Dakota’s preliminary injunction motion states in part: “… North Dakota cannot stand by as its sovereign interests are undermined and its State budget is irreparably harmed by the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of lost mineral royalties and taxes.” North Dakota, along with the states of Wyoming and Colorado, sent a letter to the assistant secretary of interior May 13, asking the agency to delay implementation of the BLM Rule until the validity of the rule could be determined by the district court.

The Department of Interior denied the states’ request.