In addition to Burgum atop the Department of the Interior, Trump appointed<\/a> Hamm\u2019s associate<\/a> Chris Wright as Secretary of Energy. Last year, the University of Wyoming hosted Hamm at a fireside chat, honoring him as a \u201ctitan of industry\u201d<\/a> for advancements in fracking and horizontal drilling.<\/p>\n Gov. Mark Gordon joined Hamm, the executive chairman of Continental, at a Houston industry conference earlier this year and hailed both the Oklahoma oilman and Trump. \u201cThe new administration \u2014 with energy friends Doug Burgum and Chris Wright \u2014 understands states know how to manage their resources best,\u201d Gordon said<\/a>, according to one report.<\/p>\n The BLM issued the permits under agency \u201cresource management plans\u201d instead of relying on the overarching Environmental Impact Statement for the entire 5,000-well drilling proposal. That impact statement prompted the conservation lawsuit in 2022 and the temporary injunction. Judge Chutkan based her stop-work finding on a federal misrepresentation of groundwater impacts.<\/p>\n The BLM re-wrote that section of the statement and this summer began issuing drilling permits. Those permits, however, cited the resource plans, not the Environmental Impact Statement, as the authority under which drilling could begin.<\/p>\n Conservationists called foul and are asking to update their suit with new claims. That\u2019s where the issue sits today, with conservationists and industry advocates at loggerheads over whether the suit can be updated and supplemented.<\/p>\n Pollution, odors, hazards<\/p>\n The latest round of court filings is long on legal arguments rather than the effects of drilling itself. The conservation groups don\u2019t have a stake in the development \u2014 they lack \u201cstanding\u201d \u2014 drilling advocates say. Powder River and Western Watersheds shouldn\u2019t be allowed to bring new claims in a case that is close to resolution, drillers contend.<\/p>\n Developers also question the chance of conservationists\u2019 success and whether claims of potential environmental destruction have already been legally resolved. Drillers said allowing the new claims would \u201cscuttle any hope of timely final resolution\u201d of the suit.<\/p>\n The new conservation claim \u201cseeks to unnecessarily complicate this simple process, delay resolution of pending matters, and yoke separate and distinct agency decisions to unrelated matters before the Court,\u201d the Department of Justice stated. \u201c[T]his Court should deny the Groups\u2019 motion to file a supplemental complaint,\u201d Wyoming said.<\/p>\n The BLM\u2019s permits were issued \u201cin circumvention of the interim injunction,\u201d the conservationists claim. The new claims are closely related to the original suit, and rules require judges to freely grant new pleadings, the conservation groups say.<\/p>\n To establish standing, the supplemental requests say that Maria Katherman and others are affected by the industrialization of the area. Members of the group who visit the wide-open landscape will suffer \u201cexposure to air pollution, industrial noise, noxious odors, and traffic hazards; reduced wildlife viewing opportunities; deteriorated viewsheds and scenic enjoyment, including stargazing; and other harms.\u201d<\/p>\n During one visit, \u201cKatherman counted 42 semi trucks in just a 5-mile stretch, all hauling gravel or fracking sand,\u201d conservationists state. The conservation groups say development could extirpate 54 sage grouse breeding ground leks and threaten more than 1,000 raptor nests.<\/p>\n Conservationists fought the firing of a BLM employee who they say was unjustly terminated<\/a> by Trump\u2019s first administration after standing up for wildlife protections.<\/p>\n Chutkan had not scheduled further action after Powder River and Western Watersheds filed their last brief Friday.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Oilfield-traffic.jpg\")
The conservation suit says this photograph shows whiteout conditions created by a passing oil truck.(Shannon Anderson\/PRBRC)<\/p>\n