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Wyoming v. U.S. Department of the Interior
Western Energy Alliance v. Jewell ↗
2:16-cv-00280-MLCD. Wyo.1 entry
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
Wyoming v. United States Department of Interior ↗
2:16-cv-00285D. Wyo.42 entries
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
10/08/2020
Decision
Waste Prevention Rule vacated except with respect to specified severable provisions.
The federal district court for the District of Wyoming vacated the bulk of the Waste Prevention Rule promulgated during the Obama administration, holding that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) exceeded its authority and acted arbitrarily and capriciously. The Waste Prevention Rule was intended “to reduce waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and natural gas production activities” on federal and tribal lands and to clarify “when produced gas lost through venting, flaring, or leaks is subject to royalties.” In 2019, the Wyoming federal court stayed these proceedings challenging the Waste Prevention Rule while a challenge to the Trump administration’s repeal of the rule was pending in the federal district court for the Northern District of California. After that court vacated the repeal in July 2020, the Wyoming federal court lifted the stay. In its order vacating all but two provisions of the Waste Prevention Rule, the court concluded that “a principal purpose and intent” of the rule was to “curb air emissions” and that the Mineral Leasing Act did not delegate authority to the Secretary of Interior to promulgate rules “justified primarily upon the ancillary benefit of a reduction in air pollution, particularly when considered in light of historical context and the comprehensive regulatory structure under the Clean Air Act.” The court also found that BLM acted arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to consider the rule’s impacts on marginal wells, failing to explain and identify support for the rule’s capture requirements, and failing to separately consider the rule’s domestic costs and benefits.
Wyoming v. U.S. Department of the Interior ↗
20-8072United States Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.)3 entries
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
09/16/2024
Decision
Petition for rehearing denied.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing of its order vacating the District of Wyoming’s 2020 decision that held that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's 2016 Waste Prevention Rule exceeded the agency’s authority.
08/27/2024
Petition For Rehearing
Petition for panel rehearing filed.
The Petitioners asked the Tenth Circuit for panel rehearing requesting either that the court not vacate the district court’s judgment or clarify that BLM may not retroactively enforce the 2016 rule.
08/13/2024
Decision
Appeals dismissed and district court's ruling and judgment vacated.
After the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted a final rule in April 2024 that aimed to reduce waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and gas production activities on federal and Indian leases, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court’s 2020 ruling and judgment that vacated portions of the Obama administration’s 2016 rule that also aimed to reduce waste of natural gas. The district court held that the 2016 rule exceeded BLM’s authority under the Mineral Leasing Act and that BLM acted arbitrarily and capriciously in adopting the rule. The Tenth Circuit noted that all appellate parties agreed that the appeal from the district court’s 2020 ruling and judgment should be dismissed as moot. The Tenth Circuit further concluded, however, that it was appropriate to follow the general rule of vacating the district court’s ruling when a case becomes moot during appeal. Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas, Montana, Western Energy Alliance, and Independent Petroleum Association of America (Petitioners) had argued that the district court’s ruling should be left in place because some of the appellants were responsible for delaying the appeal until the regulation 2016 regulation was replaced, but the Tenth Circuit was not persuaded. The Tenth Circuit noted that practitioners and courts could continue to consult the district court’s 2020 ruling “for its potential value as persuasive authority.” Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and Texas have filed a separate <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/north-dakota-v-us-department-of-the-interior-2/">lawsuit</a> in the District of North Dakota challenging the 2024 rule.
Wyoming v. U.S. Department of the Interior ↗
18-8027, 18-8029United States Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.)14 entries
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
04/09/2019
Decision
Order and judgment issued dismissing appeal as moot and vacating district court order.
After BLM finalized a rule to replace the Obama administration’s Waste Prevention Rule for oil and gas development on public lands, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed as moot an appeal of a district court order enjoining enforcement of the Obama-era rule. The Tenth Circuit also vacated the district court’s order. The Tenth Circuit did not, however, order the district court to dismiss the challenge to the Waste Prevention Rule. The court noted that although adoption of a new rule typically moots a challenge to the rule it replaces, in this case the replacement rule removed “almost all” of the Waste Prevention Rule’s requirements, leaving some requirements in place. For this reason, the Tenth Circuit concluded that “[w]e do not see any harm in allowing the district court to decide in the first instance whether the entire case is moot.”
10/26/2018
Decision
Order issued referring motion to dismiss to merits panel.
On October 26, the Tenth Circuit referred the motion to dismiss to the panel assigned to consider the merits of the appeal.
10/25/2018
Response
Joint response filed by appellants to motion to dismiss.
The environmental groups and states appealing the stay order agreed that the case was moot but argued that the Tenth Circuit should vacate the stay order to prevent the district court’s “unprecedented” expansion of judicial authority to enjoin federal regulations “from spawning any legal consequences.” The appellants also contended that the Tenth Circuit should direct the district court to dismiss the underlying petitions for review challenging the Obama administration rule.
10/11/2018
Motion
Motion filed by federal government to dismiss appeal as moot.
On October 11, 2018, the federal government moved to dismiss appeals of a Wyoming federal court’s stay of the effectiveness the Obama administration’s Waste Prevention Rule, which regulated oil and gas development on federal and tribal lands to reduce venting, flaring, and leaks of methane. The government argued that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s publication on September 28, 2018 of a final rule rescinding and revising requirements of the Waste Prevention Rule rendered the appeal moot.