Tenth Circuit: Phased Plan for Natural Gas Drilling Rejected

Late last week, in a National Environmental Policy Act case, the Tenth Circuit affirmed previous rejections, by the Bureau of Land Management and the district court, of a phased plan for natural gas drilling in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.  This plan, proposed by environmental and other groups as an alternative to another plan under BLM consideration, would have phased in development, delaying drilling for at least ten years and possibly decades.  The other, more accelerated plan proposed by federal lessees, called for drilling within a ten-year period.  Beyond this case, as noted below, the Tenth Circuit's decision presents a circuit split.