ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20080
No(s). 2:21-CV-00778 (W.D. La. May 10, 2021) (Doughty, J.)

A district court denied environmental groups' motion to intervene in a lawsuit concerning the president's Executive Order pausing new oil and gas lease sales on public lands. The groups maintained that their interests might not be adequately represented by the existing parties, arguing that although the U.S. government's particular objective was to deny states' efforts to compel lease sales, their ultimate objectives differed in that the groups' ultimate objectives focused on ensuring that no new lease sales took place, at least until there was an opportunity to implement an approach to oil and gas development on federal lands that was sufficiently protective of the climate, environment, and public health. The court found there could only be one "same ultimate objective" because the suit was about constitutional and statutory authority, not climate policy, and thus that the government and the groups had the same ultimate objective. It therefore denied the groups' motion to intervene.