"Trump’s Rollback of Fracking Rule Upheld By Court"

"The Trump administration didn’t break the law when it scrapped an Obama-era regulation for fracking on public and tribal lands, a court ruled Friday.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected a legal challenge from California and a coalition of environmental groups.

Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. wrote that the Bureau of Land Management provided a “reasoned explanation” for its decision to rescind the Obama administration’s rule.

“Although BLM could have provided more detail, it did enough to clear the low bar of arbitrary and capricious review, and that is all the law requires,” he wrote, referring to the Administrative Procedure Act."

Ellen M. Gilmer reports for Bloomberg Environment March 27, 2020.