California v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction against the Bureau of Land Management from implementing the Suspension Rule, which would delay the requirements of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation Rule. Additionally, the court denied the BLM and intervening third parties’ motion to transfer venue to the District of Wyoming. The court held the plaintiffs were entitled to a preliminary injunction because the BLM did not provide a reasoned analysis for the Suspension Rule. This failure to provide meaningful notice and comment was an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion. California v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management provides yet another example of the Trump Administration’s attempts to circumvent Obama-era regulations by expediting rulemaking process in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act