Montana Governor, Attorney General United in Opposition to Federal Fracking Proposals
Both Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and Governor Steve Bullock have written letters to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell in opposition to recently proposed fracking regulations.
"They haven't got the message," Fox said. "I've worked in the oil fields before. I worked for the state of Montana and helped develop their environmental regulations for oil and gas. I know as best as anyone that Montana gets it right when it comes to regulating the oil and gas industry. Really, the federal government is trying to do something here that's onerous, that doesn't have a basis in science. It's not necessary and it's something that the states do very, very well. It should be left up to the states."
Fox argued that under the principal of cooperative federalism, that the states should be in charge of enforcing the Clean Water Act. Fox also took time to praise Governor Bullock for coming out publicly against the proposed regulations.
"It's just another example of their over reach," Fox said. "In this particular realm it is something that I think they are intending to do, not so much to protect the water, frankly, but to try to put a burden on an industry that they don't like."
The letter signed by Fox was also signed by the attorney generals in Oklahoma, Alabama, Alaska and West Virgina.
Tim Fox: