ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20195
No(s). 1:19-cv-00505-RB-SCY (D.N.M. Aug 18, 2020) (Brack, J.)

A district court granted in part and denied in part a motion to vacate BLM's approval of three leases for oil and gas development in southeastern New Mexico. An environmental group argued that BLM violated NEPA by failing to consider cumulative climate effects, failing to incorporate the social cost of carbon into its analysis, and failing to adequately assess the impacts on air quality, water quantity, and water quality. The court found that the agency sufficiently analyzed how the leases affected the local and regional environment, and that its conclusion that the impact was not significant was neither arbitrary nor capricious. It further found that BLM did not err in opting not to employ the social cost of carbon protocol, and that it took a sufficiently hard look at the leases' impacts. The group next argued the agency violated NEPA by preparing EAs rather than EISs to justify the lease sales. The court found that BLM adequately prepared and properly analyzed the direct and indirect effects of the leases in its EAs and that, as a result, the agency was not required to prepare EISs for each of them. Finally, the group argued that the agency's adoption of the leasing process outlined in a 2018 instruction memorandum violated FLPMA and NEPA because the memorandum removed certain public participation requirements and thus was invalid. The court found the removal of such requirements violated several associated FLPMA and NEPA regulations, but that BLM abided by the statutory requirements to include the public in one of the lease sales. It therefore granted the group's request to enjoin future leases that do not allow for public participation, but denied the group's motion in all other respects.