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On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld the BLM's decision to

April 9, 2018 by Elizabeth Duran

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld the BLM's decision to halt leases on about 3.5 million acres of publicly-owned land for drilling for oil and gas. The court said the lease in question, which was leased to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, was "substantial and impermissible" for federal purposes.

While the ruling was a victory for the plaintiffs, the court said it was a setback for the agency. The DOI has had an ongoing $21 billion in federal contracts with oil and gas companies over the last four years to manage the state's resources.

"This is a landmark ruling for the oil and gas industry as well as the Sierra Club," said David S. Sussman, the president and CEO of Protecting the Earth. "The agency's decision to halt leases shows that the Obama administration has the power to change the law, not just in Wyoming. It has the power to make it illegal to transfer those public lands away for public use."

The decision to stop leases is a blow to the Obama administration's efforts to curb greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the case of a new lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club, which argued that the Obama administration's decision to issue leases has not been properly considered.

"This is a significant setback for the Sierra Club, which has made a number of key environmental and social justice commitments, including an environmental commitment to limit the greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuel production," said Mike Sussman of the Sierra Club.