GRAND JUNCTION — A federal judge has grudgingly granted the federal government a ninth delay in responding to lawsuits challenging a plan to open nearly 2 million acres of public land in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado to oil-shale development.
U.S. District Court Judge John Kane granted the request last week, extending the deadline to July 16. But Kane said he’s not inclined to approve any more delays, noting that the two lawsuits were filed nearly 17 months ago.
Federal officials said they made the latest request because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Kane said while he is sympathetic to the “existence of factors beyond Defendants’ control which have contributed to the delay of this proceeding,” negotiations have been under way for nearly eight months.
The lawsuits by conservation groups claim the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management violated environmental laws by curtailing public comment and failing to consider impacts on wildlife or the potential effects on climate change.
The 13 groups suing also claim regulations setting the royalty rates for oil shale violate federal law.
When he was a U.S. senator, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the initial 5 percent royalty rate a “pittance.” He criticized the Bush administration for approving the oil-shale plan and regulations.
