The Department of the Interior unlawfully canceled quarterly federal oil and gas lease sales in Wyoming, the state said in a petition to review the decision.
Wyoming alleged that after three decades of holding regularly scheduled quarterly lease sales, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland exercised “newfound” discretion that brought the program to a sudden halt without justifying her decision.
Although the US District Court for the District of Wyoming found that Haaland’s cancellation of lease sales in the first quarter of 2021 was accompanied by a sufficient explanation that no land was available for leasing at that time, Wyoming claims that ...