ELR Citation: ELR 20220
No(s). 1:08-cv-0004 (D. Alaska Aug 5, 2010)

A district court held that the Minerals Management Service's (MMS') decision to offer approximately 29.4 million acres of public lands on the outer continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea for oil and gas leasing violated NEPA. Although much of the agency's extensive investigation was appropriate, it failed to analyze the environmental impact of natural gas development despite industry interest and specific lease incentives for such development; failed to determine whether missing information identified by the agency was relevant or essential; and failed to determine whether the cost of obtaining the missing information was exorbitant, or the means of doing so unknown. This does not necessarily require the MMS to completely redo the permitting process, but merely to address the three concerns addressed above. In all other respects, the MMS complied with NEPA.