Two environmental groups launched the first legal assault on the Bush administration’s energy policy, suing to overturn last September’s sale of 12 new oil and gas leases by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in southern Utah. The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance claim that BLM officials violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act by issuing the leases to explore for oil and gas. The groups say the BLM neglected to analyze the impact of the leases on environmental and historic resources, and failed to solicit adequate public input before making its decision.
