Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

Friday, May 29, 2009
Bureau of Land Management Can Be Held Accountable for Global Warming

Montana Judge Clears Way for Conservationists to Safeguard the Climate
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

MISSOULA, Mont. – Conservation groups have passed an important legal hurdle in an effort to require the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to consider global warming before selling federal oil & natural gas leases in Montana. On May 27th, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled that the conservation groups could move forward with their lawsuit and seek to enforce a 2001 Secretarial Order signed by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.

The conservation groups have alleged that the 2001 Order, which requires BLM to “consider and analyze potential climate change impacts” in its plans and decisions, was violated when BLM sold over 40,000 acres of federal oil & natural gas leases in Montana without climate safeguards to address leaks and inefficiencies in the oil & natural gas production process. BLM, however, filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the 2001 Order could not be judicially reviewed or enforced against BLM in federal court. Rejecting BLM’s argument, the court determined that BLM could be held accountable for violations of the 2001 Order.

“The 2001 Order was a promise by the Department of the Interior and BLM to address global warming, and promises should be kept,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “This is a great step toward securing accountability to the climate and common sense solutions.”

“The good news is that once BLM seriously addresses climate change impacts, we can cost-effectively reduce this pollution with off-the-shelf technologies,” said Jennifer Goldman with EARTHWORKS’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project. “We haven’t done that yet, but we’re one step closer.”

The lawsuit was filed in December 2008 by the Montana Environmental Information Center, Oil & Gas Accountability Project, and WildEarth Guardians. The conservation groups are represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit, public interest law firm.