BLM Considers Leasing of Natural Gas Resources in National Forest

On November 4, 2015, the USDA Forest Service announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Northeastern States District will prepare environmental assessments to determine whether oil and natural gas development will be allowed in the Wayne National Forest, located southeastern Ohio.

As stated in the press release, “[f]ollowing the completion of each EA, a decision will be made by the BLM to either approve leasing parcels, not approve leasing parcels, or complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address leasing.” BLM will conduct three public meetings in the cities of Marietta, Athens and Ironton throughout November to receive comments on leasing federally-owned oil and gas rights beneath the Wayne National Forest.

In May 2012, BLM released a Finding for the Supplemental Information Report concluding that horizontal shale drilling was now economically viable in certain areas of the Wayne National Forest overlaying Marcellus and Utica shale deposits. The Forest Service approved the report in August 2012 but several environmental organizations, including the Ohio Environmental Council and the Buckeye Forest Council, opposed the leasing of forest lands. As a result, no shale drilling projects have been proposed so far in the Wayne National Forest.

Further information can be found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/wayne/home. 

Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow

11/10/2015

U.S DISTRICT COURT OF WYOMING DELAYS THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF BLM’S NEW REGULATION FOR FRACKING ON FEDERAL AND INDIAN LANDS

Following a preliminary injunction hearing, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming issued a temporary order, on June 24, 2015, delaying the effective date of BLM’s regulation governing hydraulic fracturing on Federal and Indian lands. The regulation was originally set to take effect on this same day. This temporary order will remain in effect until the court makes a final ruling in this litigation.

On May 15, 2015, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Western Energy Alliance filed a  motion for a preliminary injunction challenging various provisions of the rule that both groups deemed “arbitrary” and lacking of “rational justification.”

Subsequently, the states of Wyoming and Colorado joined the suit and filed a preliminary injunction motion on May 29, 2015, arguing that only states are authorized to regulate hydraulic fracturing in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and the 2005 Energy Policy Act. The states argue that such regulation will harm their sovereignty interest by interfering with existing state regulations. BLM’s response to the states’ arguments was presented in their brief submitted on June 12, 2015.

On June 22, 2015, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe – which already has filed suit against BLM in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado at docket no. 1:15-cv-01303-JLK – filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit against BLM, alongside the states of Wyoming, Colorado and North Dakota, and the two industry groups.

The case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming, at docket no. 2:15-cv-00041-SWS.

Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow

06/26/2015

ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS SUE BLM ALLEGING NEPA VIOLATIONS IN CALIFORNIA LEASES

On June 10, 2015, the non-profit organizations Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management challenging the BLM’s resource management plan, along with the accompanying Environmental Impact Statement, that allowed the leasing of federal lands in California for unconventional drilling purposes.

In their claims, environmental organizations contend that the BLM’s resource management plan and EIS were approved in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act for failure to: 1) identify proper alternatives to the Bakersfield plan; 2) provide a thorough analysis of the significant environmental impacts of adopting the Bakersfield plan; and 3) prepare an additional EIS regarding the new research and information that became available concerning the environmental impact of the hydraulic fracturing technique since 2014, when the resource management plan and EIS were approved.

The case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, at docket number 2:15-cv-04378.

Further information is available at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en.html

Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow

06/16/2015