"Judge Greenlights More NEPA Reviews On Western Oil Leases"

"The Biden administration has agreed to reconsider the cumulative climate effects of oil and gas leases on nearly 4 million acres in a settlement approved this week by a federal judge.

Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week approved voluntary settlements requiring the Bureau of Land Management to redo its analysis of the leases under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The agreements resolve legal challenges brought by WildEarth Guardians and other challengers beginning in 2016, and again in two other cases in 2020 and 2021. Altogether, the suits involve leases across five states: Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Montana."

Niina H. Farah reports for E&E News June 3, 2022.