Wyoming v. U.S. Department of Interior

Wyoming filed a motion in the federal district court for the District of Wyoming seeking a preliminary injunction to enjoin the Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leasing on public lands and in offshore waters while agencies review leasing practices. Wyoming argued it was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims under the Federal Land Planning and Management Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. Wyoming also contended it would suffer irreparable harm on four fronts: loss of revenue from federal lease sales, los of revenue from minerals Wyoming cannot recover, environmental consequences such as increased emissions from less efficient environmental controls, and procedural injury. Wyoming argued that the “purported unsubstantiated greenhouse gas benefits do not outweigh the public interest in ensuring compliance with federal law which, in turn, generates substantial revenue for the federal government.”

The State of Wyoming filed a lawsuit in federal court in Wyoming asserting that a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on public lands violated the Mineral Leasing Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Wyoming's suit was separate from a suit filed in federal court in Louisiana by 13 other states.