WASHINGTON — An on-again, off-again effort to restrict harmful methane emissions on federal lands is off — again.
A federal judge in Wyoming has halted the clean-air rule indefinitely, saying it "makes little sense" to force oil and gas companies to comply with the Obama-era rule when the Trump administration has moved to roll back the 2016 regulation.
In the meantime, Judge Scott Skavdahl said enforcing the earlier rule would provide "minimal public benefit" while imposing potentially significant costs on industry.
Skavdahl's ruling is the latest in a back-and-forth series of court decisions and administrative actions as the Trump administration tries to weaken or delay a rule imposed in the waning days of the Obama administration.
Dan Naatz, vice-president of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, cheered the latest court decision.
"A new rule is coming out," he said. "The agency is taking comments on it now." Trying to enforce Obama-era rule in the meantime would only cause confusion, he added.