Judge Voids Oil and Gas Leases on Almost One Million Acres of Land

The Western Watersheds Project and the Center of Biological Diversity brought suit against the United States Bureau of Land Management for the unlawful restriction of public participation in oil and gas leases that affect large areas of public land across the Western United States.[1] On February 27, 2020, a federal district judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and voided the oil and gas leases on federal lands for unlawful restriction of public participation.[2]

“More than [one] billion barrels of oil were produced from drilling offshore and on public land” under the Trump administration in 2019.[3] The oil and gas leases span across sixty-seven million acres of land across eleven states.[4] While the Trump administration expanded domestic energy production, it implemented measures to curve public participation.[5] “A centerpiece of this effort has been the administration’s efforts to silence the public and local communities,” said Chase Huntley, director of the Wilderness Society’s climate and energy program. Chief Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush ruled in favor of the Western Watersheds Project and the Center of Biological Diversity.[6] Judge Bush rejected the oil and gas leases and mandated that the Bureau of Land Management alter its procedure for oil and gas leases “that are wholly or partially within sage grouse habitat management areas.”[7]

Environmental groups see this ruling as a victory. Taylor McKinnon, senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement, “The judge confirmed that it’s illegal to silence the public to expand fossil fuel extraction. It’s a win for millions of acres of our beautiful public lands and a major blow to the Trump administration’s corrupt efforts to serve corporate polluters.”[8]

The Bureau of Land Management maintains that it “[has] been working within [its] legal authorities to alleviate or eliminate unnecessary and burdensome regulations, while at the same time upholding public health and environmental protections . . .” and remains “committed to a simpler, more effective leasing process,” according to Derrick Henry, spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management.[9]

*Featured Image: Mason Cummings, The Wilderness Society

[1] Juliet Eilperin and Darryl Fears, Judge voids nearly 1 million acres of oil and gas leases, saying Trump policy undercut public input, The Washington Post (February 28, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/02/27/judge-voids-nearly-1-million-acres-oil-gas-leases-saying-trump-policy-undercut-public-input/ (last visited February 29, 2020).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Rachel Frazin, Judge voids oil and gas leases on almost 1 million acres of public lands, The Hill (February 28, 2020), https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/485133-judge-voids-almost-1-million-acres-of-oil-and-gas-leases-on-public (last visited February 29, 2020).

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

Chicago’s Little Village Residents Renew Call for Environmental Revitalization Plan

Residents of Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood are renewing calls for a neighborhood revitalization plan that addresses their environmental concerns.  Little Village, located on Chicago’s southwest side, is the former site of a coal plant that closed in 2012.[1]  Following the closure of the plant, the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) spearheaded an effort to transition the site into recreational, open space, and economic development assets that serve the needs of the community.[2]  Those efforts culminated in a set of draft guidelines released by the City’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in January 2019.[3]

The guidelines framed an effort to improve economic and environmental conditions in the area, including a plan to integrate on-site renewable energy, increased landscaping, and encourage the use of alternative fuel vehicles for industrial operations in the neighborhood.[4] However, residents felt the plan did not go far enough to address their environmental concerns, and prioritized continued industry development in the neighborhood.[5] Progress on the environmental revitalization efforts stalled soon after the draft guidelines were released.[6]

The owner of the former coal plant site, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, intends to turn the site into a one‑million‑square‑foot warehouse.[7]  LVEJO members hosted a press conference at City Hall on February 26, 2020 to voice their opposition to the plan.  LVEJO, joined by representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Warehouse Workers for Justice, and the Union of Concerned Scientists called on the DPD to resume efforts to modernize the neighborhood by increasing environmental regulations on current and future industrial operators in the area, continuously monitoring air pollution levels, and performing a traffic study every five years.[8]  Following the press conference, LVEJO expressed their hope that Hilco and DPD will engage Little Village residents in crafting environmentally equitable solutions that benefit the community as a whole.[9]

*Featured Image: LVEJO 

[1] Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Coal Power Plant Shutdown, http://www.lvejo.org/our-accomplishments/coal-plant-shutdown/ (last visited Feb. 29, 2020).

[2] Id.

[3] City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Mayor Emanuel’s Industrial Corridor Modernization Little Village Framework, Draft for Public Comment (January 2019), https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/zlup/Planning_and_Policy/Publications/draft-little-village-framework.pdf.

[4] Id., p. 2.

[5] Mauricio Peña, Environmental Groups Call On City To Regulate Polluters By Relaunching Little Village Modernization Plan, Block Club Chicago (Feb. 27, 2020), available at https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/02/27/environmental-groups-call-on-city-to-regulate-polluters-by-relaunching-little-village-industrial-corridor-modernization-plan/.

[6] Kari Lyderson, Chicagoans demand answers, input and oversight for former coal plant site, Energy News Network (Feb. 27, 2020), available at https://energynews.us/2020/02/27/midwest/chicagoans-demand-answers-input-and-oversight-for-former-coal-plant-site/.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Peña, supra note 5.