Stop Trump-Era Utah Oil and Gas Lease Sale Approvals, Court Told

摘要

The Bureau of Land Management failed to properly explain why it reversed course under the Trump administration and offered 77 new oil and gas leases in the San Rafael Desert in Utah,environmental groups told a Washington, D.C., federal court.The agency also didn’t study the impact from the development of those leases on water quantity and pronghorn antelope in the desert, according to the filing in the U.S. District Court forthe District of Columbia.The court should vacate the leases and block any slated development, the Center for Biological Diversity, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Living Rivers, and Natural Resource DefenseCouncil said in their May 14 filing.The agency previously identified a large part of the desert as open to leasing, but it said additional review was required to consider new information, the groups say.