Drilling Leases for Utah Tar Sands, First in Decade, Move Ahead

The Interior Department on Wednesday took a step toward leasing tar sands in northeast Utah for the first time in more than a decade—a plan that could be finalized in the final days of the Trump administration.

Interior’s Bureau of Land Management published an environmental assessment for leasing 2,100 acres of federal land at Asphalt Ridge near Vernal, Utah, for tar sands development. The public can comment on the assessment through Dec. 24.

Tar sands, also known as oil sands, are among the most energy-intensive and polluting methods of producing crude oil. They’re most common in Alberta, Canada, but can ...