North Dakota v. EPA

Petitioners challenging EPA’s final methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emission standards for new, reconstructed, and modified sources in the oil and natural gas sector filed a motion to govern further proceedings. The petitioners asked the court consolidate the methane standards challenge with two pending proceedings that also challenged new source performance standards for the oil and gas sector. The petitioners also requested that the consolidated proceedings be bifurcated to allow the court to first consider “fundamental legal issues,” including EPA’s authority to regulate, and then to move to consideration of “implementation-based challenges.”

Fifteen states and a number of trade groups joined early filer North Dakota in challenging EPA’s methane emission standards for new, reconstructed, and modified sources in the oil and natural gas sector. The D.C. Circuit consolidated all nine petitions, with North Dakota’s proceeding as the lead case. The petitioners said they would establish that the regulations exceeded EPA’s statutory authority and were arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law. Six environmental groups filed a motion seeking to intervene on EPA’s behalf, as did nine states and the City of Chicago.

North Dakota filed a petition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for review of EPA’s final rule establishing methane emission standards for new, reconstructed, and modified sources in the oil and natural gas sector. North Dakota asserted that the rule exceeded EPA’s statutory authority, was unconstitutional, and was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law.