Trump Administration Abandons Tighter Regulations on Fracking in Wayne Forest and Other Public Lands

The Trump administration decided quietly over the holidays to abandon proposed federal regulations governing fracking on public lands . For Ohio environmentalists, the decision is big and bad news. For Ohio’s oil and gas industry, it’s a practical approach to regulation. The Interior Department has rescinded a proposed Obama administration rule that would have set limits on hydraulic fracturing in places like Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. The rules would have tightened standards for well construction and required disclosure of toxic chemicals contained in fracking fluids. But Mike Chadsey of Ohio’s Oil and Gas Association says Ohio already has adequate disclosure and other requirements and states are better positioned to set standards. “We’ve got folks that live in the areas they regulate. The county regulator lives in that county. That is far superior than someone in D.C. saying hey do XYZ and they’ve never even been to Monroe County.” But Nathan Johnson of the Ohio Environmental