Friends of Cedar Mesa v. Department of the Interior

A Utah-based conservation organization and federal defendants filed a joint motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the organization’s lawsuit challenging 32 oil and gas leases. The parties executed a settlement agreement pursuant to which the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will conduct additional analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act. The new NEPA analysis will include consideration of a “no leasing” alternative. BLM is to issue a new decision by April 10, 2024 on the 32 leases, all of which were currently suspended.

The federal district court for the District of Columbia concluded that the State of Utah could intervene in a case challenging federal approval of 32 oil and gas leases in southeastern Utah. The complaint’s allegations included that federal defendants failed to consider cumulative impacts of climate change on cultural resources. The court found that Utah met all four elements for intervention as of right because the State sought to intervene prior to deadline for serving the administrative record, the State had legally protected economic and regulatory interests that were at stake, and the federal defendants’ representation of those interests might be inadequate.