A federal judge ordered the Interior Department on October 4 to reinstate a regulation aimed at restricting methane emissions from oil and gas production on federal lands.

The Interior Department moved to delay the rule until 2019, saying it was too burdensome to industry. The action followed an earlier effort by the department to postpone part of the rule set to to take effect next year.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte of the Northern District of California said in her ruling that Interior had failed to give a "reasoned explanation" for the changes. She said the department had not offered details as to why an analysis by the Obama administration was faulty and ordered the entire rule reinstated immediately.

The rule was finalized in November 2016 and directs energy companies to capture methane that is flared at drilling sites on public lands during production. An estimated $330 million a year in methane is lost through leaks or releases on federal lands.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and ranks as a leading contributor to global warming.

The court ruling follows a defeat in Congress, when the Senate turned back a bid to overturn the methane rule after three Republicans joined Democrats in voting to uphold it. The vote prompted Interior officials to promise to suspend, revise or rescind the rule.

The methane rule imposes a "significant regulatory burden that encumbers American energy production, economic growth and job creation," especially in North Dakota, Colorado and New Mexico, the Department of the Interior said.