News & Alerts
November 4, 2020 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 2016 WASTE PREVENTION RULE STAYED IN WYOMING BY DISTRICT COURT ORDERpdf
The Bureau of Land Management’s 2016 Waste Prevention Rule, created under the Obama administration, was to become effective in Wyoming on October 13, 2020, but on October 8, 2020 Wyoming U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl vacated the Rule by Order in Wyoming v. U.S. Dept of Interior, No. 2:16-CV-0285-SWS (D. Wyo. Oct. 8, 2020). Montana, North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming challenged the Rule in Wyoming District Court, claiming BLM had exceeded its authority in promulgating the Rule, because the Environmental Protection Agency and the States have authority to regulate air pollution under the Clean Air Act. Judge Skavdahl agreed, recognizing the primary purpose of the Rule was not, as it purports, to prevent waste of mineral resources, but to regulate oil and gas for the protection of air quality, which is outside BLM’s authority. Judge Skavdahl’s Order may be read in its entirety on the attached PDF: