Context is Crucial in Examining BLM’s Proposed Rule for Fracking On Federal Land
President-elect Biden will assume office in January, 2021, with a divided nation, the global coronavirus pandemic, and a domestic energy market in a distressed state. The new administration will need to oversee the management...more
On March 27, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the Bureau of Land Management’s (“BLM”) motion for summary judgment, upholding the agency’s decision to rescind, or roll back,...more
Focus - Environmental groups sue BLM over California drilling plan - Reuters – October 30 - The Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity this Wednesday sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over...more
Earlier this week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals partially reversed a district court decision, and ordered the Bureau of Land Management to vacate the NEPA approvals and permits it had issued authorizing the drilling of a...more
In a detailed opinion, U.S. District Court Judge James O. Browning of the District of New Mexico sided squarely with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the oil and gas operators, represented by Holland & Hart’s...more
Public notice of some very significant regulatory actions has been provided in the waning days of 2017. 1. On December 28, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking...more
The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) announced today that it has temporarily postponed certain requirements contained in its 2016 final Waste Prevention Rule (also known as the Venting and Flaring Rule) for 1 year, until...more
Last week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed as prudentially unripe appeals of last year’s District Court decision striking down BLM’s 2015 fracking rule. The District Court ruled that BLM had no authority to issue...more
Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) announced its recommendation that the hydraulic fracturing rule from 2015 entitled, “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands,” be rescinded – the Federal...more
President Donald Trump’s recently signed Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (the Order) includes significant revisions to the regulatory landscape both (1) directly in the case of oil and...more
President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order 13783, an omnibus executive order aimed at reducing burdens on further development of domestic energy resources, with “particular attention” to oil, natural gas, coal and...more
The Trump Administration has signaled its intent to pull the plug on two rules issued by the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") in 2015 and 2016. Legal and legislative developments over the next...more
The Trump Administration unveiled significant rollbacks in funding for federal agencies when it released its Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again on March 16, 2017. The President's proposed budget priorities would...more
Last week, Judge Michael Fitzgerald granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs in a citizen suit alleging that BLM’s Environmental Impact Statement prepared to address whether to open certain lands in California to mineral...more
On September 6, 2016, a federal Judge issued an Order finding that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) failed to take a “hard look,” as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), at the potential...more
U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl in State of Wyoming et al v. U.S. Department if Interior et al. struck down Bureau of Land Management regulations applying to hydraulic fracking on federal and Indian lands. He...more
The federal district court in the state of Wyoming recently enjoined the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) from regulating hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), effectively ending, at least for now, the federal government’s...more
On June 24, the Obama Administration filed its notice of appeal to challenge last week’s federal court decision to strike down the newest regulation over hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands by the Bureau of Land...more
“Status of BLM and Forest Service’s Efforts to Implement Amendments to Plans Regarding Sage Grouse Conservation and Coordination Activities with Affected States.” Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - PG&E to close Diablo Canyon, California's last nuclear power plant - Los Angeles Times - Jun 21 - Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) announced on Tuesday that it plans to close...more
As we’ve previously reported, a Wyoming federal court issued a preliminary injunction order last year that temporarily halted the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing on public lands. ...more
US District Court rejects US Bureau of Land Management’s rule regarding hydraulic fracturing operations on federal and Tribal lands. On June 21, 2016, the US District Court for the District of Wyoming (District Court)...more
Wyoming U.S. District Court Declares Bureau of Land Management’s Hydraulic Fracturing Rule Unlawful On June 21, 2016, United States District Judge Scott Skavdahl granted BakerHostetler’s petition for review of final...more
In a decision sending shockwaves across the nation’s oil and gas industry, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming yesterday set aside the Bureau of Land Management’s rule to govern hydraulic fracturing on federal...more
Yesterday, Judge Scott Skavdahl of the District of Wyoming held that the Bureau of Land Management did not have authority to regulate the environmental impacts of fracking. I think Judge Skavdahl probably got it right, but I...more