Federal Judge Bars BLM Wyoming From Approving Drilling Applications for 180 Days

A federal judge has directed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to conduct a more thorough environmental impact analysis before auctioning nearly 120,000 acres of public land in Wyoming to the oil and gas industry, siding with conservation groups. U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Christopher Cooper prohibited the BLM from approving drilling applications for 180 days, according to the judge’s order. A separate order on the matter will follow, he said, but set no date. In June 2022, the Wilderness Society and other conservation groups collectively sued BLM over its plan to auction the land, claiming that it failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which requires an environmental impact assessment before large projects....