BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A federal court has allowed North Dakota and Colorado to intervene with Wyoming in a lawsuit challenging new rules for oil and gas drilling on federal land.
The Obama administration announced in March that it will require companies that drill on federal lands to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. The rule takes effect in June.
The three states assert the move is unlawful in part because it interferes with their own regulations that address the process.
Wyoming filed its lawsuit last month. A federal judge this week granted permission for both North Dakota and Colorado to intervene alongside Wyoming.
North Dakota regulators say the new federal rule could add years to the permitting process and hamper the drilling of thousands of wells in the state.