(Bismarck) A federal judge in North Dakota has temporarily blocked a new Biden administration rule aimed at reducing the venting and flaring of natural gas at oil wells.
“At this preliminary stage, the plaintiffs have a good chance of succeeding on the merits of their claim that the rule is arbitrary,” U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor said Friday, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Utah challenged the rule in federal court earlier this year, arguing that it would hamper oil and gas production and that the Interior Department was overstepping its regulatory authority over nonfederal minerals and air pollution.
The Biden administration argues that the rule is aimed at reducing gas waste and that royalty holders would receive more than $50 million in additional payments if it were implemented.
Judge Traynor, however, ruled that the rules “add nothing more than additional federal regulation to existing regulations.”
When pumping oil, natural gas often becomes a byproduct. Since gas is not as profitable as oil, it is either vented or flared unless proper equipment is in place to capture it.
Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a “super pollutant” that is several times more potent in the short term than carbon dioxide.
Well operators have significantly reduced flaring rates in North Dakota in recent years, but they still hover around 5 percent, according to the Bismarck Tribune. Reductions require infrastructure to capture, transport and use this gas.
North Dakota politicians welcomed the decision.
“The Biden-Harris administration has continually attempted to overregulate and ultimately undermine North Dakota’s energy production capabilities,” state Attorney General Drew Wrigley said in a statement.
The Interior Ministry, for its part, declined to comment.