MHA chair opposes federal methane rule, citing risk to oil development

Mark Fox, chair of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, speaks during a conference of tribal and state government leaders on June 26, 2024. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

Mark Fox, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said he fears a new federal methane rule could stall oil and gas development on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

“We have concerns to express,” he said about the regulation from the Bureau of Land Management. “Anything that’s going to impede our sovereign process, we take an interest in.”

The rule, which is being challenged in court by North Dakota and other energy states, tightens regulations on oil operators in an attempt to rein in natural gas emissions.

North Dakota oil regulator argues for suspension of federal methane rule

It also clarifies when operators must compensate property owners for the flaring, or burning, of natural gas. The BLM estimates the new rule will generate more than $50 million per year in additional royalties.

The rule is bound to impact the MHA’s Fort Berthold reservation, which is a major hub for oil and gas development. According to the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, the reservation as of June had more than 2,900 active oil and gas wells. The state estimated roughly 1,700 additional wells could be drilled there in the future.

Though the North Dakota state government also opposes the regulations, Fox noted the MHA Nation’s interests are distinct from the state’s. He acknowledged that the MHA Nation must strike a difficult balance between protecting its land and keeping energy development growing.

Fox said he’s open to working with the BLM to amend the rule.

“Even though we may at this point not be in favor of it, I would love to be able to sit down to revise this in such a way we can maybe support it,” he said.

Fort Berthold POWER, a conservation organization and affiliate of the Dakota Resource Council, has taken the stance that the rules are necessary to reduce the waste of natural resources in the production of oil and gas.

“My ancestors worked hard not to waste any resources,” said state Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, co-founder of Fort Berthold POWER. “To my people the earth is sacred and to waste any of the earth’s natural resources is to disrespect the earth.”

In comments submitted to the BLM in 2023, before the rule was finalized, the organization also cited health, environmental and financial impacts that affect the people of Fort Berthold.

“We bear the brunt of the air, noise, and light pollution associated with flaring,” the group wrote in public comments. “We lose out on millions of dollars in royalties from the gas wasted through flaring.”

During the Bakken oil boom, flaring was often higher at Fort Berthold than other parts of western North Dakota due to challenges keeping up with natural gas processing and pipeline capacity. A 2022 analysis of flaring data by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism found 20% of all flaring in North Dakota between 2012 and 2020 in North Dakota took place on the reservation. It also found that the amount of gas flared on Fort Berthold was roughly three times the amount flared on all other tribal land in the U.S.

Since then, flaring on the reservation has gone down significantly.

For example, preliminary figures showed 3% of natural gas was flared on the Fort Berthold Reservation in June. The statewide average that month was 5%.

North Dakota, Wyoming, Texas and Montana in April filed suit against the Department of Interior in the U.S. District Court of North Dakota arguing the BLM overstepped its regulatory authority in issuing the rule. Utah later also joined as a plaintiff.

Attorneys representing the states have requested that enforcement of the rule be suspended until a final decision is reached in the case. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor has yet to rule on the motion.

The plaintiff states claim that the authority to regulate air pollution belongs to the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments, not the BLM.

They also claim the rule sets unrealistic standards for oil operators that will hobble the energy industry. In a June hearing, former Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms testified that North Dakota could lose $2.1 million a year in tax revenue under the new regulations.

An attorney for the Department of the Interior said during the hearing that the policy is not about reducing air pollution, but about streamlining regulations, making sure property owners are fairly compensated for oil production and preventing the unnecessary loss of resources.

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