Calif. lawsuit targets White House repeal of fracking rule

On Wednesday, California filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration, this one concerning the repeal of a rule regulating hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on publicly owned lands under Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

“The risks of fracking to our health and our environment are real,” Xavier Becerra said at a news conference Wednesday, on the first anniversary of his becoming California’s attorney general.

“President (Donald) Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke didn’t let the law or facts get in their way in their zeal to repeal,” he added.

The repeal of the 2015 rule, which was issued by the Bureau of Land Management under President Barack Obama, was a long time coming. After first indicating in a March 2017 court filing that it planned to repeal the rule, the Trump administration finalized the rollback Dec. 29.

Under the Obama-era rule, companies that drill on public or American Indian lands were subject to stricter standards for oil and gas wells, and for ponds and tanks where toxic waste water that resulted from the fracking process is stored.

With the rule, the Obama administration also sought to compel oil and gas firms to report what chemicals they use when they fracked — data environmental groups frequently try to pry from drillers, with little success.