The Supreme Court Declines Review of California’s Offshore Fracking Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined a request by the oil industry to review a lower court ruling barring fracking off California’s shore.

In 2014, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) sued to halt offshore fracking in federal waters off the Golden State. Four years later, Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the Central District of California, a George W. Bush appointee, found the federal government had violated the Endangered Species Act and Coastal Zone Management Act by issuing fracking permits for the area.

Last year, a three-judge federal appeals court upheld the ruling but also went further than the Central District, finding that the Interior Department also failed to conduct required environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Read more at TheHill.com.