Legal

Since our first legal victory in 2011 regarding federal drilling permits, our Legal Defense Fund (LDF) has been an effective force for protecting your assets in the West. Our record of success spans cases defending against overreaching regulations on leasing, air quality, and wildlife. In 2023, we expect to file challenges on additional regulatory actions, particularly those aimed at restricting access to capital.

We have mounted a comprehensive defense of federal leasing and hence, the underpinnings of the entire onshore federal oil and natural gas program.

We continued our defense of nearly every federal lease sale since 2016 by adding in the defense of the June 2022 lease sales, the only held so far in the Biden Administration. Our intervention in these multiple cases and engagement in settlement negotiations enabled companies to proceed with APDs in many instances while BLM conducts the supplemental analysis required by the courts.
While we received a disappointing decision in our suit challenging the Biden Leasing Ban, it was narrowly focused on the facts of the canceled first quarter 2021 sales without implications beyond. Rather than appealing, we followed up with two new cases challenging BLM’s failure to hold quarterly lease sales in 2022.

Even if you don’t have any leases at issue in these multiple cases or plan to lease in the near future, the defense of valid existing lease rights affects any company that operates on federal lands. Were the basic ability to engage in new leasing to fall, anti-oil-and-gas groups would focus on canceling existing leases, no matter how old or how much production is on them.

But we don’t just focus on federal lands issues. Our fundraising in 2022 and into 2023 has focused on building up assets to challenge government regulation aimed at decapitalizing and debanking the entire industry. We have built up over half a million dollars for new legal action in 2023 aimed at financial regulation. We also anticipate we will need to challenge new regulations related to methane emissions.

Would you please support our legal efforts with a contribution to the Western Energy Alliance Legal Defense Fund?

Our active cases include:

State of Utah v. Dept. of Labor: Along with 25 states, we’re challenging the Biden Administration’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act rule meant to de-finance oil and natural gas by placing ESG and climate change considerations above maximizing financial returns and minimizing risk in employee pension plans and 401(k)s.
Western States Petroleum Association v. City of Portland: We’ve joined a coalition to challenge a Portland ordinance that impedes interstate commerce and international trade in oil and natural gas. Our participation ensures producers are represented as Portland and other West Coast states and municipalities attempt to block the use and export of western gas.
Western Energy Alliance v. Deb Haaland: We’re challenging the failure to hold 3rd and 4th quarter 2022 lease sales as a means to compel regular quarterly leasing.
We’re defending the only set of lease sales held by the Biden Administration in Dakota Resources Council v. Interior Dept. At issue is the greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis BLM must use for any action from leases to permits.
WildEarth Guardians v. Bernhardt cases in the D.C. District Court involve almost all federal lease sales from 2015 to 2019. Our intervention prevented an adverse settlement agreement and helped BLM develop a defensible template for analyzing greenhouse gas emissions.
IPAA v. Jewell: Having overturned the Obama BLM fracking rule and upheld the Trump rescission rule, we’re defending the Trump rescission rule in the Ninth Circuit.[i]
Western Energy Alliance v. Jewell: Having overturned the Obama BLM venting and flaring rule in the Wyoming District Court, we’re defending that victory in the Tenth Circuit. While dormant for now, we expect legal action to resume once the new Biden rule is finalized.
Western Watersheds v. Bernhardt in the Idaho District challenges multiple 2017-2019 lease sales in Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Nevada. In January 2020, Judge Bush vacated 2018 leases and the Alliance appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
Montana Wildlife Federation v. Bernhard in the District of Montana challenged Wyoming and Montana 2017-2018 lease sales. Judge Morris vacated leases and we have appealed. Because of our intervention, the leases remain active through the long appeal process.

Our sage grouse litigation has been dormant for a few years as each successive administration has rewritten the 2015 Obama-era sage grouse plans, but we may need to re-engage once the Biden Administration releases new plans in 2023.
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[i] We joined forces with the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) to successfully litigate the BLM hydraulic fracturing and venting & flaring rules, with IPAA covering all costs for the former and the Alliance for the latter. We’re funding all other cases, with PAW joining us on the case challenging failure to hold quarterly sales and providing minimal, although appreciated, funding.

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