Feds Broke Law Approving Massive Converse County Oil and Gas Field, Court Rules

The federal government violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it approved a sprawling 5,000-well oil and gas project near Douglas, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Friday, rescinding the Bureau of Land Management’s 2020 environmental review.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that the BLM failed to consider reasonable alternatives to virtually unbridled development across an area the size of Delaware. Among other deficiencies, the agency dismissed a slower pace of development without justification and failed to rigorously examine reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Contrary to BLM’s representation, a slower pace of development is not inconsistent with the agency’s stated purpose and need for agency action,” Chutkan wrote. “The errors here were the type that prompts ‘substantial doubt’ that the agency chose correctly.”

The ruling comes four years after the Powder River Basin Resource Council and Western Watersheds Project filed suit. The state of Wyoming, oil and gas drillers and the federal government opposed the challenge.

The project “is already emitting and will continue to emit significant levels of greenhouse gases that will contribute to climate change and impart other significant environmental harm, impacting human health, sensitive natural resources, landscapes, and wildlife,” the opinion states.

The BLM is reviewing the decision. “The BLM will have to issue a new environmental impact statement,” said Sarah Stellberg, staff attorney for Advocates for the West, which represented the conservation groups.

The Petroleum Association of Wyoming called the ruling flawed. “The ruling ignores the United States Supreme Court’s 8-0 decision that narrowed the scope of NEPA reviews,” said vice president Ryan McConnaughey. “It is a blow to the creative work of balancing development and conservation in Wyoming that will limit future collaborations if left standing.”

Development continues under more than 200 permits issued last year after Chutkan had already blocked new permits under the original environmental review. Conservationists view that as an end-run around safeguards but have not decided whether to file another challenge.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s office did not comment.