NORTH DAKOTA

Judge blocks Biden rule to limit gas flaring

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.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor ruled on Sept. 13 that plaintiffs’ claims the rule was “arbitrary and capricious” was likely to succeed, the Bismarck Tribune reported.

North Dakota, along with Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Utah, challenged the rule in federal court earlier this year, arguing that it would hinder oil and gas production and that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is overstepping its regulatory authority on non-federal minerals and air pollution.

The bureau says the rule is intended to reduce the waste of gas and that royalty owners would see over $50 million in additional payments if it was enforced.

But Traynor wrote that the rules “add nothing more than a layer of federal regulation on top of existing federal regulation.”

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When pumping for oil, natural gas often comes up as a byproduct. Gas isn’t as profitable as oil, so it is vented or flared unless the right equipment is in place to capture.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a climate “super pollutant” that is many times more potent in the short term than carbon dioxide.

Well operators have reduced flaring rates in North Dakota significantly over the past few years, but they still hover around 5%, the Tribune reported. Reductions require infrastructure to capture, transport and use that gas.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Families sue state over giant sinkholes

Stuart and Tonya Junker loved their quiet neighborhood near South Dakota’s Black Hills — until the earth began collapsing around them, leaving them wondering if their home could tumble into a gaping hole.

They blame the state for selling land that became the Hideaway Hills subdivision despite knowing it was perched above an old mine. Since the sinkholes began opening up, they and about 150 of their neighbors sued the state for $45 million to cover the value of their homes and legal costs.

Sinkholes are fairly common, due to collapsed caves, old mines or dissolving material, but the circumstances in South Dakota stand out, said Paul Santi, a professor of geological engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.

Crews built Hideaway Hills, located a few miles northwest of Rapid City, from 2002 to 2004 in an area previously owned by the state where the mineral gypsum was mined for use at a nearby state-owned cement plant.

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Attorney Kathy Barrow, who represents residents who live in 94 subdivision homes, said the state sold the surface but held on to the subsurface, and it did not disclose it had removed the soil’s natural ability to hold up the surface.

Since that first giant collapse, more holes and sinkings have appeared and there are now “too many to count,” Barrow said. The unstable ground has affected 158 homes plus destabilized roads and utilities.

In court documents, the state called the sinkhole formation “tragic” but argued that it wasn’t the fault of state officials. The state traced the area’s mining history to the 1900s, noting a company that mined underground and on the surface before 1930. Beginning in 1986, the state-owned cement plant mined for several years.

The state claimed it wasn’t liable for damages related to the underground mine collapse because the cement plant didn’t mine underground and the mine would have collapsed regardless of the plant’s activities.

UTAH

Ruling blocks question on citizen initiatives

Utah voters won’t decide this November on a proposal to amend the state constitution that would let state lawmakers rewrite voter-approved ballot measures but the question will remain on ballots with just weeks to go until the election, a judge ruled Thursday.

Legislative leaders vowed to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.

Salt Lake County District Judge Dianna Gibson sided with the League of Women Voters and others who challenged the measure, agreeing that it carries misleading ballot language and has not been advertised in newspapers statewide as required.

To keep ballot-printing and other election deadlines on track, the amendment will still be on Utah ballots in November but won’t be counted.

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The ballot language — which says the change would “strengthen the initiative process” — is not only misleading but says the opposite of what the amendment would actually do, a League of Women Voters attorney argued in a hearing on Sept. 10.

Gibson agreed in her ruling.

An attorney for Utah lawmakers stood by the ballot language in the hearing. But lawmakers’ argument that extensive media coverage of the proposed amendment suffices for statewide publication also didn’t sway the judge.

Meeting in a special session in late August, lawmakers approved the state constitutional amendment for voters to decide in November.

Legislative leaders in a statement criticized Gibson’s ruling as a “policy-making action from the bench.”

WYOMING

Sage-grouse lek attendance up

CHEYENNE — Sage-grouse lek attendance has increased according to data from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department lek counts this spring.

In 2024, lek attendance increased by 33% compared to last year. The appearance of more birds at leks — clearings where male birds strut their stuff for females during mating season — is thought to be due to the natural population cycles of sage-grouse combined with good moisture that benefited sagebrush habitat.

This spring, officials observed an average of 28 male sage-grouse per active lek. More than 29,000 male sage-grouse were observed on 90% of known, occupied leks — an increase over last year when persistent winter conditions hampered monitoring efforts. Annual observations are carried out by Game and Fish, federal partners, consultants and volunteers.

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Habitat is key to the sustainability of sage-grouse populations.

“Sage-grouse are a sagebrush obligate species and could not survive without intact sagebrush ecosystems,” said Nyssa Whitford, Game and Fish’s sage-grouse/sagebrush biologist. “Well-timed moisture and available habitat are paramount to robust sage-grouse populations.”

Game and Fish data on sage-grouse lek attendance goes back nearly six decades and the cyclical nature of the bird’s population is evident.

The cause of these well-established cycles is not understood, but it is thought to be influenced by weather and climate, which impact the availability of food and cover in the sagebrush ecosystem.

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