Four environmental advocacy groups sued the Bureau of Land Management, challenging its approval of at least 255 applications for permits to drill in the Mancos Shale formation in New Mexico.
BLM approved the permits through “piecemeal, boilerplate environmental assessments” without considering the cumulative impacts of development across the Greater Chaco Landscape in the northwestern part of the state, according to the complaint. The suit was brought by the Sierra Club, Wildearth Guardians, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, a Navajo organization.
“BLM’s piecemeal approval of the challenged drilling permits is particularly problematic because oil ...