"A key House Democrat [Wednesday] criticized the Obama administration's proposal for regulating hydraulic fracturing on public land, saying it appears to be watering down the rule "under pressure from industry."

'The Interior Department seems to be making the rule weaker, not stronger,' Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) said in his opening statement at a hearing on the proposal. 'Weakening these requirements is troubling to me.'

Holt is the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources' Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. His criticism was included in the Democratic response to Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash)."

Mike Soraghan reports for Greenwire May 8, 2013. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Joe Biden Kinda Sorta Maybe Opposes Keystone XL Pipeline" (Grist) [3]

"Foes Suggest a Tradeoff if Pipeline Is Approved" (New York Times) [4]