CBD v. BLM, BLM's Revised Proposed Regulations, and the Thorny Way Forward for Fracking

摘要

The CBD v. Salazar decision illustrates the thorny agency decisionmaking process that may lie ahead for parties interested in drilling in unconventional federal oil and gas reserves. While additional, updated NEPA analyses of fracking may ultimately be necessary before fracking on federal public lands hits full steam, under existing regulations, operators may be able to tap into federal shale formations now by drilling horizontally from nearby leases.