{"id":2590,"date":"2015-02-11T01:29:12","date_gmt":"2015-02-11T07:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/?p=2590"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:30:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:30:52","slug":"nm-federal-judge-strikes-down-mora-county-oil-and-gas-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2015\/02\/11\/nm-federal-judge-strikes-down-mora-county-oil-and-gas-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"NM Federal Judge Strikes Down Mora County Oil and Gas Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, federal Judge James Browning, sitting on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, invalidated a law passed by Mora County Commissioners that prohibited oil and gas production in the county. \u00a0The ban, the first of its kind in the nation, raised questions regarding the constitutionality of prohibiting the development of mineral estates. \u00a0Judge Browning’s opinion in SWEPI, LP v. Mora County, New Mexico\u00a0<\/em>marks the first federal decision related to local drilling bans, which are being seen across the country.<\/p>\n

\"Cows<\/a><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mora County, located in rural northern New Mexico is home to less than 5,000 residents, most of whom make their living ranching. \u00a0In 2013, Mora County Commissioners passed the “Mora County Community Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance,” which essentially prohibited all mineral extraction in the County. \u00a0The rationale behind this ordinance was concern among county residents and landowners that mineral production could pose threats to water quality, ecosystems, and the health of the land.<\/p>\n

Lawsuit<\/strong><\/p>\n

In January 2014, SWEPI, LP,\u00a0an oil and gas production company, filed suit challenging the validity of the ordinance. \u00a0It brought a number of claims, including allegations that the ordinance violated the Supremacy Clause, Equal Protection Clause, Due Process Clause, Dormant Commerce Clause, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment. \u00a0SWEPI then moved for summary judgment on a number of these claims.<\/p>\n

Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a 199-page ruling, the court thoroughly considered each of the claims brought by SWEPI. \u00a0[Read full opinion here<\/a>.] \u00a0Here is a summary of the court’s ruling on each claim.<\/p>\n

(1) SWEPI’s\u00a0Fifth Amendment Claim Is Not Ripe<\/span>. \u00a0SWEPI claimed that the ordinance constituted a taking of private property for which it was owed just compensation. \u00a0The Court, however, held this claim was not ripe for decision at this time. \u00a0In order to prove a takings claim is ripe for decision, a plaintiff must show how a regulation will be applied to the property in question and the challenge may not be brought until the property owner has sought compensation from the governmental entity accused of the taking. \u00a0Here, SWEPI failed to seek compensation from Mora County as allowed by the New Mexico inverse condemnation statute. \u00a0Thus, the court refused to consider the Fifth Amendment claim..<\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0The Ordinance Violates the Supremacy Clause.<\/span>\u00a0 The Supremacy Clause essentially provides that federal law will trump (or pre-empt) conflicting state law. \u00a0The court found that four sections of the ordinance violate this clause. \u00a0Each of the improper sections dealt with Mora County’s attempt to strip corporations of constitutional rights. \u00a0But the United States Supreme Court has previously found that corporations are “persons” such that they are entitled to protections of the Equal Protection Clause, and have rights under the First and Fifth Amendments. \u00a0Simply put, Mora County has no power to contradict or nullify constitutional rights recognized by federal law. \u00a0Moreover, Mora County attempted to prohibit a corporation from arguing that federal law pre-empted the ordinance. \u00a0Again, Mora County has no power to determine when federal claims may be brought.<\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0The Ordinance Does \u00a0Not Violate the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses.<\/span>\u00a0 Where a law is passed that discriminates against different groups, but does not involve a fundamental right (i.e. right to vote), the law does not violate equal protection or substantive due process so long as there is a legitimate governmental interest\u00a0the classification created. \u00a0Here, Mora County prohibited only corporations from oil and gas production, but did not enact a similar ban for individuals. \u00a0SWEPI argued that this constituted discrimination with no legitimate basis. \u00a0The court disagreed, finding that Mora County had a legitimate basis for prohibiting corporations from extracting minerals in the county because it is likely that only corporations would have the resources to engage in oil and gas production, which the County believed could endanger the environment. Because the property rights at issue in this case are not considered a fundamental right, and because Mora County had a legitimate interest in treating corporations differently than individuals under this law, no violation occurred under the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses.<\/p>\n

(4) \u00a0The Ordinance Violates the First Amendment by Chilling Protected Speech.<\/span>\u00a0 The provision in the ordinance which attempts to strip corporations of First Amendment Rights is invalid. \u00a0This provision is substantially overbroad and restricts First Amendment rights that are clearly afforded to corporations under federal law.<\/p>\n

(5)\u00a0Mora County Lacks Authority To Impose Zoning Laws on State Land.<\/span> \u00a0The ordinance is silent as to whether it applies to state lands, but Mora County argued that it could be applied to state-owned land because extraction on that land could impact neighboring private properties. \u00a0Because a County does not have the legal authority to impose zoning regulations on land owned by the State of New Mexico, the ordinance would be invalid as applied to any state-owned land.<\/p>\n

(6) \u00a0The Ordinance Conflicts with New Mexico State Law by Banning Production.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Local laws may conflict with state law and, if they do so, they will be pre-empted and held invalid. \u00a0There are two types of pre-emption recognized: \u00a0Field and Conflict.<\/p>\n

Field pre-emption occurs when it is clear from the law that the Legislature intended to \u00a0control a particular area of law. \u00a0SWEPI argued that state law pre-empted the field of oil and gas production. \u00a0The court rejected that argument. \u00a0While there are certainly state laws related to oil and gas production, there is no language indicating that the Legislature intended the state to be solely responsible for passing regulations related to oil and gas. \u00a0Instead, there is room for concurrent local and state regulation in certain areas on which the State has not passed regulations.<\/p>\n

Conflict pre-emption occurs when a local law expressly conflicts with a state law. \u00a0Here, because Mora County banned oil and gas production, which is an activity expressly allowed by state law, conflict pre-emption occurred.<\/p>\n

What Happens Now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to media reports, Mora County is considering an appeal of the court’s decision. \u00a0If taken, that will be heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. \u00a0Additionally, because SWEPI was successful on its claims, it will likely seek recovery of its reasonable attorney’s fees and costs\u00a0from Mora County.<\/p>\n

What Can We Learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The clearest lesson from this opinion is that local laws that prohibit all oil and gas production activities are likely going to face numerous constitutional issues. \u00a0Chief among these will likely be issues involving the Supremacy Clause and the 5th Amendment takings clause.<\/p>\n

Additionally, this case makes clear that a local ordinance may not strip corporations of Constitutional rights guaranteed to both individuals and corporations by federal law. \u00a0Local authorities considering oil and gas bans would be well served by omitting this type of language as it is a fairly easy legal decision that such provisions are not permitted.<\/p>\n

Finally, although the ruling invalidates the broadly drafted ban passed in Mora County, this issue is not likely to go away. \u00a0This opinion potentially leaves the door open for less restrictive local ordinances. \u00a0For example, the court stated that there are certain issues related to oil and gas production that are not addressed by state law, which leave room for county regulation. \u00a0As examples, the court listed traffic, noise, nuisance claims from sound, dust, or chemical run off, and the potential negative impact on neighboring landowners.<\/p>\n

Additional Information<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several other articles have been written that address other issues related to the ordinance that may be of interest.<\/p>\n

Scrapped Drilling Ban Leaves Open Window for Local Rules<\/a>: \u00a0This article discusses how the opinion leaves the possibility of other, less drastic, local measures being upheld.<\/p>\n

Federal Judge Strikes Down Local Fracking Ban<\/a>: \u00a0This article discusses other similar legal challenges to bans going on across the country.<\/p>\n

Rejected Fracking Ban May Cost NM County Hundreds of Thousands in Legal Fees<\/a>: \u00a0This article\u00a0opines that attorney fees sought by the plaintiffs could total over $100,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, federal Judge James Browning, sitting on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, invalidated a law passed by Mora County Commissioners that prohibited oil and gas production in the county. \u00a0The ban, the first of its kind in the nation, raised questions regarding the constitutionality of prohibiting the development of mineral estates. \u00a0Judge Browning’s opinion in SWEPI, LP v. Mora County, New Mexico\u00a0marks the first federal decision related to local drilling bans, which are being seen across the country. Background Mora County, located… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2444,"featured_media":2260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-fracking-bans"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNM Federal Judge Strikes Down Mora County Oil and Gas Ban - Texas Agriculture Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasaglaw\/2015\/02\/11\/nm-federal-judge-strikes-down-mora-county-oil-and-gas-ban\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NM Federal Judge Strikes Down Mora County Oil and Gas Ban - Texas Agriculture Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently, federal Judge James Browning, sitting on the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, invalidated a law passed by Mora County Commissioners that prohibited oil and gas production in the county. \u00a0The ban, the first of its kind in the nation, raised questions regarding the constitutionality of prohibiting the development of mineral estates. \u00a0Judge Browning’s opinion in SWEPI, LP v. 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Mora County, New Mexico\u00a0marks the first federal decision related to local drilling bans, which are being seen across the country. Background Mora County, located... 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