State v. Bureau of Land Mgmt.

Full Case Name
STATE of California, et al., Plaintiffs, v. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, et al., Defendants. Sierra Club, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Ryan Zinke, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Interior, et al., Defendants.
Description

The District Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the United States Bureau of Land Management from instituting the Suspension Rule regarding the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resourse Conservation Rule.

Date
02-22-2018
Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Jurisdiction
United States
Incident Location
N/A
Disputed Act

The States of California and New Mexico sought to enjoin the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from instituting a rule suspending or delaying (the Suspension Rule) the requirements of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resourse Conservation Rule. A coalition of 17 conservation and tribal citizen groups also brought suit seeking the same preliminary injunction against BLM. The two cases were consolidated for review. Plaintiffs argued that without a preliminary injunction of the Suspension Rule, "they will suffer irreparable harm in the form of waste of publicly-owned natural gas, increased air pollution and related health impacts, exacerbated climate harms, and other environmental injury such as noise and light pollution."

Holding
The District Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the United States Bureau of Land Management from instituting the Suspension Rule in regards to the requirements of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resourse Conservation Rule. Specifically, the Court found that the Bureau of Land Management lacked in its reasoning using the Suspension Rule regarding the requirements of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resourse Conservation Rule. Further, the Court found that the plaintiffs showed they would suffer irreparable injury "caused by the waste of publicly owned natural gas, increased air pollution and associated health impacts, and exacerbated climate impacts."
Disposition