Restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, have been a huge concern to the oil and gas industry as well as state officials and North Dakota's Congressional delegation.
The office of U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-ND, announced Tuesday morning that draft legislation unveiled late Monday night has no additional restrictions for fracking in it.
Congress will begin consideration of House Resolution 3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010, later this week.
The bill is a response to the explosion on the off-shore Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and has resulted in one of the largest oil spills ever. Its aim is to address the cleanup and ensure that such an incident is never allowed to occur again. Pomeroy said he's been working to make sure the issue of fracking wasn't included in the legislation.
"It's a huge issue for North Dakota and it's a huge issue for building a greater oil production capacity for the United States," said Pomeroy.
Pomeroy added that if major restrictions or a moratorium were put on fracking "oil development in the Bakken and Three Forks would be shut off like a light switch."
He said there are still items in the bill that concern him and he's still reviewing the overall legislation.
"The number one thing is North Dakota oil development is going to continue," said Pomeroy.
Williston Mayor Ward Koeser said news regarding the legislation was a relief. He said Pomeroy has done a lot to persuade congressional leadership from taking such action and he commended him for it.
"I'd been real concerned about two things. One is a huge drop in the price of oil, which isn't looking like it'll happen anytime soon and two, this whole fracking issue," said Koeser.
Koeser said his concern was that with the scrutiny on drilling other regions, he felt North Dakota might get lumped in with other regions over water and environmental concerns.
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