On November 23, 2015,
the U.S. Department of Interior agreed
to cancel the federal lease granting to Solenex Company the right to develop
the oil and gas resources in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, Montana, and submitted
a proposed schedule for the remainder of the proceedings.
In 2013, Solenex
Company filed a lawsuit in federal court against the U.S. Department of
Interior challenging the action of the federal government to suspend its rights
to drill a single exploratory gas well within the Badger-Two Medicine area.
This area is located within the Lewis and Clark National Forest and is designated
as a Traditional Cultural District under the National Register of Historic
Places. The Department of Interior suspended the lease in 1985 due to concerns
from the Blackfeet Tribe that such project will adversely affect the religious
and cultural value of the area.
In July 2015, the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia denied in part Solenex’s motion for
summary judgment requesting the court to directly order the Department of
Interior to lift the lease’s suspension; the court however left to the
Department of Interior the decision whether to lift the suspension or continue
the leasing process.
The U.S. Department of
Interior anticipated the leasing cancellation “as early as December 11, 2015,
or as soon thereafter as the Court approves the proposed schedule.”
More information on
this case is available at docket no. 1:13-cv-00993.
This is an update of
the blog post dated from September 24, 2015.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
11/24/2015
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