Powder River Breaks Newsletter, March – April 2024
March – April 2024, Volume 52, Number 2 On February 12, the Department of the Interior announced a finalized rule reforming the Bureau of Land Management’s onshore oil and gas leasing program. Readers may recall this rule was proposed last spring. Powder River members engaged diligently throughout the rulemaking process to ensure quick passage and […]
Western Ranchers and Communities Welcome New Rules for Federal Oil and Gas
Increased Reclamation Bonds Will Help Ensure Taxpayers No Longer Have to Fund Cleanup BILLINGS, Mont: After more than half a century of waiting, members of the Western Organization of Resource Councils applaud the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for releasing new rules for federal oil and gas wells. The proposed rules will help ensure that […]
Conservation Groups to Defend Administration’s Postponement of Oil & Gas Lease Sales
Casper, WY – Seventeen groups represented by Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center moved to intervene today to defend the Biden administration’s postponement of several oil and gas lease sales. A September ruling in U.S. District Court in Wyoming affirmed the administration’s ability to postpone lease sales, but the state of Wyoming and industry […]
Advocates Urge DOI & BLM: Protect Taxpayers & Fix the Broken Oil & Gas Bonding System
Three Groups Submit Formal Petition Urging Agencies to Modernize Bonding Requirements Before Taxpayers Lose Another Dime SEE THE PETITION This morning, the Western Organization of Resource Councils, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and the Natural Resources Defense Council submitted a formal petition to the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter September – October 2022
September – October 2022, Volume 50, Number 5 Powder River turns a half century old this year! Our founding members joined together in 1973 for the organization’s first annual meeting of the membership, and on Nov. 5 in Sheridan we’ll celebrate the golden anniversary of our annual meetings. The staff and board are excited to […]
Groups challenge massive Wyoming drilling, fracking project on behalf of wildlife and communities
Conservation groups have filed a legal challenge targeting the Converse County Oil & Gas Project in the southern Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The massive 5,000 oil well project , approved under the Trump administration, is projected to have a major impact in air quality locally and regionally, including in treasured landscapes of neighboring national […]
Powder River Breaks Newsletter November – December 2021
November-December 2021, Volume 49, Number 6 For the second year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Powder River held the Annual Meeting online via Zoom on Nov. 5 – 6. Unlike last year when we decided to forego the speaker and hold only the business meeting, we brought back the keynote speaker event. On the evening […]
Powder River Statement on DOI Federal Oil & Gas Report
The following is a statement from Powder River Board member Bob LeResche on the Department of the Interior’s report on the federal oil and gas program, which was released on Friday. “While we appreciate Interior’s intentions to reform the federal oil and gas program, we hoped they would suggest more specifics. We believe more sweeping […]
Western residents near oil & gas development applaud new emission rules
In response to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement of New and Existing Source Methane Pollution Standards for the Oil and Gas Industry, leaders from Western states responded: “We applaud EPA’s commitment to tackle the easily preventable and highly dangerous methane pollution from the oil and gas industry,” said Barbara Vasquez, a leader with the […]
Powder River’s 2021 Annual Report
This is Powder River Basin Resource Council’s 2021 Annual Report. To read the full report, please download the PDF.
