Judge Won't Block St. Tammany Anti-Fracking Suit

BATON ROUGE (AP) — A state district judge in Baton Rouge has refused to block a lawsuit filed by St. Tammany Parish officials who hope to stop a proposed oil drilling and fracking project.

         Parish officials filed the lawsuit in June. They argue that the well is proposed for an area zoned residential and that the parish has the authority to ban hydraulic fracturing.

         The state Department of Natural Resources' Office of Conservation wants the suit thrown out.

         But Judge William Morvant, of the 19th Judicial District, told attorneys Monday that the case has enough merit to be heard.

         Fracking extracts oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel, and chemicals.