Federal Judge Partially Blocks Wyoming Oil and Gas Project

The decision orders further review of groundwater depletion and halts new drilling permits until the project undergoes more analysis.

Vehicles pass a welcome sign along I-25, south of Cheyenne, Wyo., on Aug. 12, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP

A federal judge has partially blocked a vast oil and gas drilling project in Wyoming, citing violations of environmental laws and ordering a reassessment of the project’s potential effects on groundwater.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled on Sept. 13 that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other federal agencies had failed to properly evaluate the environmental consequences of the Converse County Oil and Gas Project, a 5,000-well development in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.