Department of Interior Proposal for Hydraulic Fracturing To Be Released Soon

The federal Bureau of Land Management’s proposal for regulating hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, which was submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in January 2013, is expected to be released soon in the form of a new draft proposal.  During a teleconference on April 30, 2013, U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell remarked that the agency will provide a new opportunity for public comment rather than finalizing the existing draft proposal.  The existing draft would address well integrity, wastewater management, and the disclosure of non-proprietary chemical information.  Notably, the existing draft was sent to OMB before Sally Jewell, a former oil industry engineer who is familiar with fracking, was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior.