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.

Challenge to United States Bureau of Land Management’s final rule concerning methane emissions from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal lands.

Wyoming v. U.S. Department of the Interior

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Tenth Circuit Vacated 2020 District Court Decision Holding that 2016 Waste Prevention Rule Exceeded BLM’s Authority

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

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A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Tenth Circuit Vacated 2020 District Court Decision Holding that 2016 Waste Prevention Rule Exceeded BLM’s Authority

Fossil fuel

Economic sector