A federal appeals court on Election Day said it will take up the Obama administration’s request to reinstate its fracking rules on Jan. 17, just days before President Obama steps down from office.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in the battleground state of Colorado scheduled oral arguments on Tuesday in the case, after a Wyoming court halted the Interior Department’s rule in June.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process by which sand and water are pumped deep underground to extract oil and natural gas from shale rock.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management rule would make fracking operations subject to federal standards for well casings, while forcing the energy industry to disclose all chemicals used in fracking fluid.
