"A federal court has struck down the Trump administration’s repeal of an Obama-era policy aimed at boosting revenue for taxpayers by changing how energy companies value sales of coal, oil and gas extracted from federal and tribal land.

The decision, which found the Interior Department’s repeal of the so-called valuation rule was “arbitrary and capricious”, was the latest blow to the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” agenda in the courts, where environmental groups and some states have challenged dozens of de-regulatory actions.

“Once again, the Trump Administration has been checked by the courts in its unlawful attempt to bend over backwards to please special interests at the expense of hardworking Americans,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement late on Friday."

Valerie Volcovici reports for Reuters April 15, 2019. [2]