This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
A judge has thrown out the Converse County Oil and Gas Project over environmental concerns. The project was approved during the first Trump administration and further propelled in the last year.
The plan allowed for 5,000 new oil and gas wells to be drilled between Douglas and Glenrock. But it has faced legal headwinds for years.
In 2022, conservation groups sued. They cited irreversible damage to local sage grouse and raptors, as they claim the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) illegally exempted the project from traditional wildlife protections.
There have been several back and forth legal decisions since. In 2023, a federal judge denied the request to pause the project while a full decision on the lawsuit was pending. Gov. Mark Gordon called it a “legal victory.”
But the rest of the lawsuit still moved forward.
In 2024, a judge ruled that the BLM violated federal law. Specifically, that the BLM’s approval of the project used flawed groundwater modeling that underestimated the water needed.
This past summer, the BLM released a new analysis finding “no new significant impacts” to groundwater resources.
The case has been simmering until last week, when a federal judge ruled in favor of the Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Western Watersheds Project. The judge maintained that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by ruling out alternatives to the project that could’ve accounted for environmental concerns, such as climate change, impacting human health and significant harm to natural resources.
“Vacatur is necessary to ensure that the Project proceeds with the benefit of a fully fleshed out consideration of the issues under NEPA,” the ruling reads.
Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman released a statement admonishing the ruling.
“Today she [Judge Tanya Chutkan] is shutting down Wyoming energy workers at the center of Trump’s promise to unleash America’s resource potential. Judge Chutkan’s latest decision to halt drilling in an area the size of Delaware marks the most recent assault of the left’s anti-Trump lawfare campaign,” Hageman said.
According to WyoFile reporting, the BLM and oil and gas lobby groups are reviewing next steps.
