Land Use Planning and Oil and Gas Leasing on Onshore Federal Lands (1989) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4 Difficulties in Relating Leasing and Planning
4 Difficulties in Relating Leasing and Planning
Pages 44-53
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 44... ...
Controversy arose quicldy as the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service planners struggled to marry the new planning requirements of the NFMA and FLPMA and the environmental analysis requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 USC 4321-4370 [19703) and the Endangered Species Act (16 USC 1531 et seq.)
|
From page 45... ...
Subsequently, a federal district court found that the Forest Service had violated tliis provision by suspending, during preparation of a new land use plan, the processing of lease applications on the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone National Forests in Wyoming (Mountain States Legal Foundation v. Hodel, 668 F
|
From page 46... ...
THE COURT DECISIONS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT The courts eventually became participants in the controversy as lawsuits were filed challenging the agencies' oil and gas leasing and management decisions, primarily on the grounds that the land management agencies failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act (16 USC 1531 et send. The first case to contest onshore federal oil and gas leasing on NEPA grounds, Sierra Club v.
|
From page 47... ...
Because the drilling had already resulted in a dry hole, the court held that the challenge to the APD was moot, but it went on to uphold the lease issuance without an EIS, finding that "in this case, developmental plans were not concrete enough at the leasing stage to require such an inquiry" (817 F.2d 623~. It noted that the Forest Service had prepared an "environmental assessment" (rather than a full EIS)
|
From page 48... ...
Once again the Park County decision was not discussed. It is not clear whether these decisions from three different federal appellate courts are in irreconcilable conflict with each other as to the requirements of NEPAL Representatives of the oil and gas industry believe that a conflict exists and asked the Supreme Court to resolve it by reviewing the Ninth Circuit decision in the Conner case.
|
From page 49... ...
THE COURT DECISIONS ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Critical habitat of species protected by the Endangered Species Act can be found in a variety of places across the country. The question of ESA compliance in onshore federal oil and gas leasing has largely focused on one species and one large area of cryptical habitat the grizzly bear, a listed threatened species, and an area of the northern Rocly Mountains where the bear's habitat overlays portions of the Overthrust Belt of considerable petroleum industry interest.
|
From page 50... ...
Burford on the ground that it was inconsistent with the Park County decision on ESA as well as NEPA grounds, but the Court declined. On the ESA question, the Solicitor General of the United States informed the Supreme Court that, in his judgment, Conner was wrong because the onshore oil and gas leasing program did allow for segmented compliance with the ESA Nevertheless, the Solicitor General recommended that the Supreme Court not review the question because Conner was not in irreconcilable conflict with Park Count, in any event the practical importance of Conner was uncertain, and the agencies should be given an opportunity to comply with it (Brief for the United States, pp.
|
From page 51... ...
Legislation was introduced in 1986 that ultimately became the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987. Soon after the initiation of legislative deliberations on reform of the leasing process, a number of House members began advocating statutory clarification of the appropriate NEPA analysis and consideration of oil and gas development to be done before leasing, focusing on the land use planning process.
|
From page 52... ...
, which require that each BLM land use plan include, among a number of analyses, a classification of lands into four management categories of lands closed to oil and gas leasing and lands open to oil and gas leasing, with three categories of environmentally related stipulations, identification of the specific stipulations for the lands determined to be open for leasing, and analysis of the "cumulative environmental impacts of reasonably foreseeable fluid mineral development."
|
From page 53... ...
Known Geologic Structures Under the Mineral Leasing Act: Interpreting and Applying the Term "Known Geologic Structure of a Producing Oil and Gas Field."
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.