Description: Lawsuit challenging the sale and issuance of an oil and gas lease in southeastern Utah, as well as the approval of development of the lease and the decision to abandon master planning for area where lease was located.
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Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Bernhardt
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 12/13/2022 Stipulation Download Parties stipulated to dismissal without prejudice. Environmental Groups and Federal Defendants Settled 2020 Lawsuit Challenging Oil and Gas Lease in Wilderness Area. Environmental groups, federal defendants, and intervenor-defendants stipulated to the dismissal of the environmental groups’ challenge to an oil and gas lease encompassing public lands within the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness in southeastern Utah. The plaintiffs’ allegations included that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management failed to adequately analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative climate change impacts of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the lease. The plaintiffs and defendants reached a settlement in December 2022. One of the intervenor-defendants that stipulated to dismissal of the case noted that it had been left out of the settlement discussions. 12/07/2022 Status Report Download Joint status report filed. 08/08/2022 Status Report Download Joint status report filed. The plaintiffs and federal defendants requested a continuation of the stay for 30 days to allow the plaintiffs and intervenor NAH Utah, LLC to continue to discuss settlements. 07/08/2022 Status Report Download Joint status report filed. The parties requested that the stay of proceedings be continued to allow the parties to take steps to finalize settlement agreement. 05/09/2022 Status Report Download Joint status report filed. The parties requested that the stay of proceedings be continued to allow the parties to finalize the terms of a settlement agreement. 04/08/2022 Status Report Download Joint status report filed. The parties requested that the stay of proceedings be continued to allow the parties to finalize the terms of a settlement agreement. 02/07/2022 Order Proceedings stayed until April 8, 2022. 02/07/2022 Status Report Download Joint status report filed, requesting that stay be continued for 60 days. 01/12/2021 Memorandum Opinion Download Motions for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction denied. After Temporarily Blocking Activity on Helium Extraction Project in Southeastern Utah, Federal Court Denied Emergency Injunctive Relief. The court denied the plaintiffs' renewed motion for preliminary injunctive relief, finding that they failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of their argument that BLM failed to analyze cumulative effects on water consumption when it approved the rights-of-way. 01/04/2021 Memorandum Download Memorandum filed by federal defendants in opposition to plaintiffs' renewed motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. 01/04/2021 Opposition Download Opposition filed by intervenor-defendant in opposition to plaintiffs' renewed motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. 12/30/2020 Complaint Download Amended and supplemented complaint filed. After BLM issued its approval documents on December 23, the environmental groups filed an amended and supplemented complaint and a renewed motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The court held a hearing on January 6, 2021. 12/30/2020 Motion Download Renewed motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed by plaintiffs. 12/23/2020 Notice Download Notice of agency decision filed by federal defendants. 12/22/2020 Order Download Ground-disturbing activity enjoined pending January 6, 2021 hearing on renewed motion for temporary restraining order and court's subsequent decision. Federal Court Temporarily Blocked Activity on Helium Extraction Project in Southeastern Utah. On December 22, 2020, the federal district court for the District of Columbia issued an order pursuant to the All Writs Act temporarily enjoining any ground-disturbing work undertaken pursuant to the anticipated approval by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of a helium extraction project in an area of the San Rafael Desert in southeastern Utah covered by an oil and gas lease sold in December 2018. The lease area is part of lands subsequently designated as the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness by the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act in March 2019. 12/18/2020 Motion Download Motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed by plaintiffs. 12/14/2020 Complaint Download Complaint filed. On December 14, four environmental groups filed a lawsuit in the court to block the Secretary of the Interior and other defendants from approving applications for permit to drill under an oil and gas lease sold in December 2018. The lease area is part of lands subsequently designated as the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness by the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act in March 2019. The environmental groups asserted that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which prepared a “Determination of NEPA Adequacy” to support sale and issuance of the lease, failed to analyze the direct, indirect, and cumulative climate change impacts of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the leasing decision. They alleged that BLM was “poised to approve” the helium drilling project despite not having finalized the “curative” National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis it had undertaken in response to the district court’s March 2019 decision in WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke, where the court held that BLM failed to adequately analyze greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts of oil and gas leases in Wyoming. The plaintiffs alleged that BLM recognized, based on WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke, that it had violated NEPA in connection with “hundreds of oil and gas leases” in Utah, including the lease at issue in this case. The plaintiffs also asserted that BLM violated NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act when the Trump administration reversed course on the Obama administration’s plan to complete a master leasing plan for the San Rafael Desert prior to authorizing new mineral development.