Calif. sues Trump administration over fracking rule

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's attorney general sued the Trump administration today for rolling back a fracking rule the state says is designed to protect public health and the environment.

The suit filed by Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra challenges the federal Bureau of Land Management's rollback of the rule that requires drilling companies to disclose what chemicals they've used for fracking.

The rule was adopted in 2015 under the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama regarding the process known as fracking, which cracks open underground oil and gas deposits with pressurized water, sand and chemicals.

BLM spokeswoman Megan Crandall said the bureau does not comment on current or pending litigation.

Becerra said the Trump administration broke the law by not following required procedures including getting public comment. He said the rollback also contradicts federal environmental laws and was arbitrary and capricious.

"They didn't let the law or the facts get in their way in their zeal to repeal what was a common sense measure," Becerra said.

The rule was put on hold in 2016 by a Wyoming judge who said the BLM had no authority to set such a rule. That decision was appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, where the administration asked the judges to delay a decision because it intended to roll back the rule.