National Wildlife Federation v. Burford
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
871 F.2d 849
Relevant factsFree
The Secretary replaced the minimum-acceptable-bid system with an entry-level-bid (ELB) system based on studies of a declining coal market, then used it to accept bids for Basin coal leases using pre-sale estimates derived from a prior, arguably non-comparable sale. Environmental groups challenged the ELB system as failing to secure fair market value and alleged procedural irregularities including price leaks.
IssueFree
Whether, under federal mining law, an agency's mineral-lease bidding procedure is arbitrary or capricious if it stimulates competitive bidding and results in fair market value.
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