A federal judge in Idaho has ruled against the Trump administration鈥檚 decision to limit public input when leasing the West鈥檚 public lands to oil and gas drillers. The decision voids five oil and gas leases in three states.
In January 2018, the Bureau of Land Management released a that reduced the time the public had to comment on oil and gas lease sales.
鈥淔aster and easier lease sales, at the expense of public participation, is not enough鈥� to justify the BLM鈥檚 change in policy, U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush wrote in his , issued Thursday.
The decision reinstates a 30-day public comment period for such leases, and vacates sales in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming totaling hundreds of thousands of acres.
鈥淭he really important thing that that means is that the public will have a greater opportunity to weigh in on future oil and gas lease sales,鈥� said Talasi Brooks, a staff attorney for one of the plaintiffs, the Western Watersheds Project.
Brooks said the other winner is the sage grouse, given the vast acreage leased and now voided.
The ruling is part of a broader brought by the Western Watersheds Project and the Center for Biological Diversity to block oil and gas drilling in sage grouse habitat across the American West.
In a statement, the BLM said it鈥檚 working to 鈥渁lleviate or eliminate unnecessary and burdensome regulations.鈥�
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City, KUNR in Nevada, the O鈥機onnor Center For the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, and KRCC and 萝莉少女 in Colorado.
Copyright 2020 KUNR Public Radio. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxNDQ2NDAxMDEyNzU2NzM2ODA3ZGI1ZA001))
