Appeals Court Lacks Jurisdiction on Well Drilling Permit Dispute

A Wyoming-based oil production company won its Tenth Circuit bid on Tuesday to get rid of a lower court decision that said it had to apply for a federal drilling permit that the Bureau of Land Management insisted was required for a well planned to traverse federal minerals.

“We, like the district court, lack jurisdiction to consider the merits of Plaintiffs’ claim brought under” the Administrative Procedure Act and the Declaratory Judgment Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said.

The panel vacated the district court’s decision and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack ...