Description: Challenge to the Converse County Oil and Gas Project in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.
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Powder River Basin Resource Council v. U.S. Department of the Interior
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 11/06/2023 Memorandum Opinion Download Motion for a preliminary injunction denied, private intervenors' motion to transfer denied, and private intervenors' motion to dismiss granted in part. D.C. Federal Court Denied Preliminary Injunction Request in Challenge to Powder River Basin Oil and Gas Project. The federal district court for the District of Columbia concluded that two conservation organizations had standing to challenge the U.S. Department of the Interior’s record of decision for the Converse County Oil and Gas Project, which authorized 5,000 new oil wells in the Powder River Basin. The court also concluded, however, that the organizations lacked standing to challenge separately approved applications for permit to drill (APDs). The court denied the organizations’ motion for a preliminary injunction, finding that they did not demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of any of the claims, including claims that the Bureau of Land Management’s analysis of cumulative effects was deficient because it did not quantify greenhouse gas emissions from other projects in the region. In addition, the court found that the organizations failed to demonstrate imminent and irreparable harm and that the equities weighed against preliminary equitable relief. The court also denied a request by private intervenors’ motion to transfer the lawsuit to the District of Wyoming. 05/26/2023 Reply Download Reply memorandum filed by plaintiffs in support of motion for preliminary injunction. 05/26/2023 Reply Download Reply filed by defendant-intervenors Continental Resources, Inc. and Devon Energy Production, L.P. in support of their motion for partial judgment on the pleadings. 04/24/2023 Opposition Download Defendants filed response in opposition to plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. 04/24/2023 Opposition Download Private intervenors filed opposition to plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. 04/24/2023 Opposition Download Opposition filed by State of Wyoming to plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. 01/18/2023 Motion to Dismiss Download Plaintiffs filed motion to dismiss counterclaim and crossclaim brought by defendant-intervenors Continental Resources, Inc. and Devon Energy Production, L.P. 01/17/2023 Motion Download Anschutz Exploration Corporation filed motion to dismiss or to transfer venue. 12/14/2022 Complaint Download First amended complaint filed. 09/07/2022 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Environmental Groups Challenged 5,000-Well Oil and Gas Development Project in Wyoming. Two environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging the Converse County Oil and Gas Project, which the plaintiffs alleged would involve development of 5,000 oil and natural gas wells in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin over a period of 10 years. The plaintiffs asserted claims under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA), and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The complaint alleged that the defendants violated the MLA, FLPMA, and APA by failing to mitigate greenhouse gas and other air pollutant emissions. The complaint also alleged that the environmental review for the project violated NEPA by, among other things, failing to quantify the project’s cumulative greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts when combined with other reasonably foreseeable future actions and failing to consider reasonable alternatives that would reduce key impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions.