Interior Wins
Legal Battle

The District Court decision in Wyoming affirming the Interior Department’s ability to weigh environmental impacts when issuing oil and gas leases on public lands – as long as it does so in a timely fashion. Still, Republicans are pushing hard to speed up both the leasing and the permitting process, and U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., recently blasted the Obama administration for impeding domestic oil and gas production.

But Robin Cooley (pictured above), the Earthjustice attorney for the groups that intervened in the Utah and Wyoming case, said the decision is actually a win-win for both the industry and the environmental community.

Salazar Report Refutes GOP Claim Administration is Blocking Oil and Gas Drilling

Overall, 45 percent of all onshore leases and 57 percent of all leased acres are idle. “The simple truth is approval rates for drilling permits are up, and industry lays idle hands on over 21 million acres of public lands,” said Matt Garrington of the Checks & Balances Project in Denver.

In Wake of Gulf Spill, Obama Administration Seeks to Divide Minerals Management Service Agency

Persistent problems have plagued the agency, which has come under fire for ethical lapses and most recently for accelerating permit approvals and incorporating industry practices in the regulations. Salazar’s new move is the latest in his campaign to reform the MMS since he became Secretary of the Interior.

Interior Terminating Royalty-in-Kind Program

Interior Secretary Salazar said at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing today that the scandal-ridden Royalty-in-Kind program, which allows industry to provide oil and natural gas directly to the Interior Department in lieu of cash royalty payments, will be terminated.