Judge rules Salazar exceeded authority in canceling Utah leases

摘要

US Interior Sec Ken Salazar exceeded his authority when he order 77 federal oil and gas leases in Utah withdrawn in early 2009, a federal court judge ruled on September 1 in Salt Lake City. But US District Judge Dee Benson also ruled that plaintiffs waited too long to challenge Salazar's action. Commissioners from three eastern Utah counties and three area independent producers who brought the suit indicated that the judge's decision keeps an unacceptable precedent from being established. Kathleen Sgamma, government affairs director at the Western Energy Alliance in Denver, said she respectfully requests that Secretary Salazar acknowledge the merits of the case and reinstate all 77 leases to the companies that legitimately purchased them.