North Dakota judge halts federal rule on gas flaring

The preliminary injunction granted Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor temporarily prevents the Bureau of Land Management from enforcing the rule in North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Utah. North Dakota is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit over the rule that took effect in April.

The BLM’s new rule is aimed at reducing natural gas waste. It not only sets new standards on venting and flaring, but also requires oil operators to do more to detect and fix gas leaks, among other practices.

Traynor wrote in his ruling that the states will likely win their case “on the merits of their claim the 2024 Rule is arbitrary and capricious,” when a final ruling is made. He noted that several elements of the rule are “inadequately explained” and “contradictory.”

The rule affects federally owned and tribal lands. Most of the oil and gas production on North Dakota tribal lands occurs on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

The Bureau of Land Management, part of the Department of the Interior, has argued that venting and flaring of natural gas “wastes valuable publicly or Indian owned resources” and “deprives American taxpayers, Tribes, and States of substantial royalty revenues.”

It adds that the practices contribute to climate change.

Traynor said the BLM doesn’t have the authority to regulate air quality. Congress granted that to the Environmental Protection Agency and states under the Clean Air Act, he wrote.

“This case is an example of where the left hand of the government does not know what the right hand of the government is doing,” Traynor wrote in the order.

He also voiced skepticism that the rule would meaningfully bring down air pollution.

North Dakota’s arguments included that the rule infringed on states’ sovereignty, and that it would cost the state revenue from oil and gas production.

The BLM has previously stated that it estimates the rule to generate more than $50 million in tax revenue.

Traynor wrote in the order that the rule “offers no rationale why flaring is more economically productive than venting.”

The North Dakota Petroleum Council called the ruling a win for the oil industry, saying the rule would have required additional flaring limits, costly compliance measures and would have been especially hard on small operators.

In a news release, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Attorney General Drew Wrigley praised the temporary injunction and said the Biden administration is overstepping its authority on oil and gas production on federal lands.

“The BLM rule imposes harmful and unnecessary regulations that undermine states’ authority to be the primary regulator of air quality within their borders under the Clean Air Act,” Burgum said in a statement. “The court’s decision is a temporary victory for consumers, U.S. energy independence and national security.”

Fort Berthold POWER, which stands for Protectors of Water and Earth Rights, is among the conservation groups that supported the BLM rule. State Rep. Lisa Finley-Deville, D-Mandaree, a co-founder of the group, said the rule reduces the waste of natural resources.

“My ancestors worked hard not to waste any resources,” Finley-Deville, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said in a previous statement to the North Dakota Monitor. “To my people, the earth is sacred and to waste any of the earth’s natural resources is to disrespect the earth.”

When the rule was finalized, Interior Secretary Deb Haalad said it modernized 40-year-old regulations and would encourage using modern technology to protect the environment and ensure a fair return to American taxpayers.

“We are taking long-overdue steps that will increase accountability for oil and gas operators and benefit energy communities now and for generations to come,” Haaland said at the time.

All three members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation praised the judge’s ruling on Friday.

U.S. John Hoeven, R-N.D., called it  “welcome progress in stopping the overregulation that is handcuffing our domestic energy producers.”