ELR Citation: ELR 20038
No(s). s. 81-1040, -1041 (10th Cir. Nov 30, 1982)

The Tenth Circuit, reversing the district court, 11 ELR 20036, upholds an opinion of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior interpreting §603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to require imposition of restrictions upon mineral leasing on lands being considered for wilderness designation. The district court had ruled that §603(c), which requires Interior to manage wilderness study areas so as not to impair their suitability as wilderness subject to a grandfather provision for specified activities, exempted all mineral leasing activities from the nonimpairment standard. The court finds that the case meets the two-part test for ripeness. First, the issue presented is purely one of statutory interpretation and is therefore fit for judicial consideration. Second, appellee's members, which hold leases on the affected lands, have demonstrated substantial economic harm from Interior's application of the Solicitor's opinion and will suffer hardship if judicial review is withheld. The court also rules that appellee was not banned from seeking judicial review by the exhaustion doctrine. Appellee need not have waited for the denial of a development permit to contest Interior's interpretation of the statute because the development of a factual record would not aid the court where only a question of statutory construction was raised.

Turning to the statute, the court rules that the language and legislative history of §603(c) supports the conclusion that the grandfather clause, which exempts from the nonimpairment standard activities existing on the date of enactment, does not exempt all mineral leasing activities from the standard. Finally, the court rules that the exemption applies only to development activities on existing mineral leases, not to the Secretary of the Interior's administration of the mineral leasing program.

Counsel for Appellants
Robert L. Klarquist
Land and Natural Resources Division
Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 633-2731

Richard A. Stacy, U.S. Attorney
P.O. Box 668, Cheyenne WY 82003
(307) 772-2124

Counsel for Intervenors-Appellants Sierra Club et al.
Laurens H. Silver
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Inc.
2044 Fillmore St., San Francisco CA 94115
(415) 567-6100

John F. Wiener
260 N. 4th St., Laramie WY 82070
(307) 742-0317

Counsel for Appellee
Craig R. Carver, Pamela A. Ray
Head, Moye, Carver & Ray
600 Equitable Bldg., 730 17th St., Denver CO 80202
(303) 623-1770

Houston G. Williams
Williams, Porter, Day & Neville
Suite 3008 Durbin Ctr., 145 S. Durbin St., Casper WY 82601
(307) 265-0700

Joined by Doyle and McKay, JJ.