368 F. Supp. 3d 41
D.C. Cir.2019Background
- Plaintiffs (WildEarth Guardians and Physicians for Social Responsibility) challenged BLM’s issuance of 282 Wyoming oil-and-gas leases (five lease sales, ~303,000 acres), asserting NEPA violations for inadequate consideration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate impacts.
- BLM issued Environmental Assessments (EAs) tiered to prior Resource Management Plan EISs and Findings of No Significant Impact (FONSIs) rather than new leasing-stage EISs.
- The EAs discussed climate change qualitatively, cited statewide/ regional studies, and provided some per‑well and inventory data, but declined to quantify aggregate drilling‑related or downstream combustion GHG emissions for each sale.
- Plaintiffs sought declaratory relief, vacatur of the leases, and an injunction against approval of APDs pending supplemental NEPA analyses.
- The Court found Plaintiffs had associational standing based on member declarations and held that BLM’s EAs/FONSIs failed NEPA’s ‘‘hard look’’ requirement because BLM did not adequately quantify and contextualize GHG emissions (drilling and downstream) or cumulative impacts.
- Remedy: Court remanded the nine EAs/FONSIs for supplementation, denied vacatur of leases, but enjoined BLM from approving APDs or authorizing new drilling on the Wyoming leases until adequate NEPA analyses are completed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing to challenge August 2016 sale | Plaintiffs' members regularly use and plan to return to areas affected; aesthetic/recreational injury. | Defendants: declarations lack parcel-specificity; Summers controls. | Standing satisfied: member declarations sufficiently specific to show imminent aesthetic harm. |
| Duty to analyze drilling-related GHGs at leasing stage | Leasing irreversibly enables drilling; BLM must reasonably forecast and quantify aggregate GHGs from leases. | BLM: site‑specific development is speculative; detailed quantification belongs at APD/drilling stage. | Held: Leasing is an irrevocable commitment; BLM must reasonably quantify aggregate drilling‑related GHG emissions (but need not perform parcel‑level site‑specific analyses). |
| Duty to analyze downstream (combustion) emissions | Downstream combustion is a reasonably foreseeable indirect effect of leasing and must be considered/quantified where feasible. | Defendants: downstream effects too attenuated/speculative or beyond BLM's authority to control; qualitative discussion suffices. | Held: Downstream emissions are reasonably foreseeable indirect effects; BLM must analyze them in greater detail and quantify if reasonably possible (or explain why quantification is not useful). |
| Adequacy of cumulative analysis and FONSIs / Remedy | BLM failed to place lease emissions in regional/national cumulative context; FONSIs thus not convincing; seek vacatur. | Defendants: EAs tier to prior EISs and qualitatively addressed climate; vacatur would be disruptive. | Held: Cumulative analyses inadequate because of missing quantification and comparison; remand required. Court denied vacatur but enjoined APD approvals until NEPA deficiencies are cured. |
Key Cases Cited
- Robertson v. Methow Valley Citizens Council, 490 U.S. 332 (NEPA requires agencies to inform decisionmakers and public)
- Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (standing requirements)
- Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass'n v. State Farm, 463 U.S. 29 (arbitrary and capricious standard for agency action)
- Public Citizen v. Dept. of Transp., 541 U.S. 752 (agency need not consider effects it cannot act upon)
- Peterson v. Morton, 717 F.2d 1409 (D.C. Cir.) (agency may not defer analysis past point of irrevocable commitment)
- Conner v. Burford, 848 F.2d 1441 (9th Cir.) (same principle re: lease stipulations and deferral)
- Sierra Club v. FERC (Freeport), 827 F.3d 36 (D.C. Cir.) (proximate causation for downstream emissions analysis)
- Sierra Club v. FERC (Sierra Club II), 867 F.3d 1357 (D.C. Cir.) (agency must reasonably forecast and may need to consider downstream GHGs)
- WildEarth Guardians v. Jewell, 738 F.3d 298 (D.C. Cir.) (NEPA requires consideration of climate impacts; rule‑of‑reason review)
- Allied‑Signal, Inc. v. NRC, 988 F.2d 146 (D.C. Cir.) (vacatur/remand equitable remedial framework)