A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to "North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan".
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This joint resolution would use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Bureau of Land Management's 2025 North Dakota Field Office resource management plan, which limited oil, gas, and coal leasing in parts of the state.
If passed, the plan would be void and the agency would need to revert to the prior 1988 management plan or issue a new one, reshaping how federal land use for energy development in North Dakota is governed.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The resolution would formally disapprove the Bureau of Land Management's Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan for its North Dakota Field Office, issued in January 2025. Using the expedited procedures of the Congressional Review Act, it declares that this rule "shall have no force or effect," effectively voiding the plan.
The 2025 plan had updated the prior 1988 management plan by restricting oil and gas development in low-potential areas and limiting new coal leasing to land within four miles of existing mines. The resolution does not create a replacement plan or new land-management policy; it simply nullifies the 2025 rule, which under the Congressional Review Act would also bar the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule in the future without new statutory authority.
Key provisions
- 1Would disapprove and void the Bureau of Land Management's North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan issued in January 2025
Who would be affected
The Bureau of Land Management's North Dakota Field Office, oil, gas, and coal companies operating or seeking leases on federal land in North Dakota, and conservation groups and other stakeholders affected by how that land is managed would all be affected by reversal of the plan.
Why it matters
Overturning the plan would remove the restrictions it placed on oil and gas development in low-potential areas and on new coal leasing near existing mines, potentially reopening more federal land in North Dakota to energy development while leaving the agency to manage under the older 1988 plan or a future replacement.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Repeals North Dakota Field Office Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (BLM rule)
Voids the 2025 plan that limited oil and gas development in low-potential areas and restricted new coal leasing to within four miles of existing mines.
Agencies directed to act
How implementation would work
As a Congressional Review Act resolution, this measure requires only passage by both chambers and the President's signature (or a veto override) to take effect; it is not subject to the Senate filibuster. Once enacted, the North Dakota Field Office resource management plan would immediately have no legal force, and the Bureau of Land Management would be barred from reissuing a substantially similar rule unless specifically authorized by a later law, likely requiring the agency to operate under the prior 1988 plan until it develops a new one.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 180.
Official CRS summary
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This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) relating to the Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the North Dakota Field Office and issued on January 8, 2025.
By way of background, an RMP guides the management of lands administered by BLM. The 2025 North Dakota RMP modified the 1988 RMP, including by limiting development of oil and gas in low-potential areas and new coal leasing to areas within four miles of existing mines.
Legislative subjects
Administrative law and regulatory procedures; Department of the Interior; Land use and conservation; Mining; North Dakota; Public Lands and Natural Resources