Pennaco Energy, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Interior
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
377 F.3d 1147 (10th Cir. 2004)
Before auctioning three mineral leases for coalbed methane (CBM) extraction, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) relied on two existing environmental impact statements (EISs) — one analyzing conventional oil and gas extraction in the area (Buffalo EIS) and a later one analyzing CBM extraction, but only on a portion of the leased land and only after a lease had already been issued (Wyodak EIS) — concluding together they satisfied NEPA's hard-look requirement, and then auctioned the leases to Pennaco Energy (plaintiff). Environmental groups appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), which reversed BLM's decision, relying partly on BLM's own memorandum acknowledging CBM extraction was never considered in the Buffalo EIS and a BLM budget request stating existing NEPA documents were inadequate for CBM development impacts; the district court reversed the IBLA, and the Department of Interior appealed.
Whether an agency's reliance on preexisting environmental impact statements that did not specifically analyze coalbed methane extraction on the particular leased parcels, one prepared before leasing and covering a different extraction method and the other prepared after leasing and covering only part of the land, satisfies NEPA's requirement to take a hard look at environmental consequences before leasing.