Western oil-and-gas drillers continue legal attack on Interior rules

A coalition of Western-state oil-and-gas drillers on Thursday filed their second lawsuit this week against the Interior Department over policies they contend will stymie domestic energy development.

The twin lawsuits against the Obama administration brought by a trade group called the Western Energy Alliance highlight political tension between the two sides and their allies.

Drilling companies allege Interior is blocking access to domestic energy through a series of policy changes finalized in May, while Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said that beefed-up environmental reviews show that oil companies are no longer calling the shots.

The complaint filed Thursday alleges that Interior and the U.S. Forest Service are failing to heed part of a 2005 energy law that exempts some oil-and-gas activities from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) studies.

Interior’s Bureau of Land Management in May imposed new limits on the use of “categorical exclusions” from environmental study for activities like drilling new wells in developed fields.

“When Congress exempts an action from NEPA, the executive branch cannot second-guess Congress and decide that NEPA should apply anyway,” the lawsuit contends.

The exclusions are meant for activities with minimal effects. The revised policies earlier this year address when federal officials will nonetheless require NEPA studies due to “extraordinary circumstances.”

A separate lawsuit filed Monday alleges Interior is failing to issue drilling leases as quickly as the Mineral Leasing Act requires once payment is received.