North Dakota judge halts BLM “flaring” rule

A North Dakota judge has temporarily blocked a new Bureau of Land Management rule that would restrict natural gas venting and flaring. The injunction would block enforcement of the rule in North Dakota, Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Utah.

Flaring is a technique used in natural gas extraction where natural gas that is not economical to transport for sale is burned off. Venting occurs when excess natural gas is simply released into the atmosphere, but in flaring, the gas is burned, converting methane into CO₂. Methane is a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and therefore “flaring is safer than releasing natural gas into the air and results in lower overall greenhouse gas emissions because CO₂ is not as strong a greenhouse gas as methane.”

BLM frames the issue as holding “oil and gas companies accountable by requiring measures to avoid wasteful practices and find and fix leaks.” It may be that oil and gas companies engage in “wasteful” practices because it is simply not profitable to do otherwise. It will be hard to determine what BLM considers “wasteful” flaring, and it may not align with what the producers think is “wasteful.”

North Dakota is also leading a coalition including Montana, Texas, and Wyoming in suing the BLM about this rule, claiming that the rule “is BLM’s second attempt to play the role of the [EPA]” by regulating greenhouse gas emissions and noted that the “BLM’s first attempt to accomplish both of these ends” was vacated by a federal court. The BLM has exceeded its authority under the Mineral Leasing Act, Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act, and more, according to the plaintiffs.

For now, the rule cannot be enforced in several states with strong oil and gas production, but it will need to be resolved by higher courts.