A judge from the US District Court in Wyoming has declared President Biden’s 2021 moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters legal. He ruled that the government does have the authority to pause leasing to allow for the proper consideration of potential environmental impacts from drilling.
Western Energy Alliance, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming and the State of Wyoming, petitioners in the lawsuit, argued that the moratorium was both permanent and illegal, in violation of the Mineral Leasing Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The judge found, however, that the Department of the Interior had postponed the lease sales on a temporary basis to meet its legal obligation to conduct a complete environmental assessment (EA). The judge noted: “Substantial evidence in record supports [the] decision to postpone the March 2021 lease sales over concerns that the associated environmental assessment did not satisfy recent federal court caselaw that had found similar EAs lacked sufficient NEPA analysis.”
The judge also held that industry and Wyoming lacked standing to challenge the postponement of certain 2021 sales.
The Wyoming ruling follows an August 18 decision from the Western District of Louisiana permanently blocking a leasing pause in 13 states (not including Wyoming) that sued over Biden’s executive order. The judge in that case ruled that the leasing moratorium was “beyond the authority of the President of the United States” and that Biden’s order violated both the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).
“We find it reassuring,” said Melissa Hornbein, senior attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, “that the court affirmed the Bureau of Land Management’s authority to postpone oil and gas lease sales in order to make certain they adhere to the law. The judge called out as nonsensical the state and industry group’s argument that postponing a lease to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires a NEPA analysis of its own. This suggests any appeal of this decision will have an uphill battle in court.” The Western Environmental Law Center, along with Earthjustice, intervened on behalf of 21 groups to defend the lease sale postponements.
Western Energy Alliance has already said that it plans to appeal the decision.
