WildEarth Guardians

Monday, March 14, 2016
Guardians Calls on Obama Administration to Cancel Colorado, Utah Oil and Gas Lease Auctions

Challenge Filed to Overturn Proposal to Auction off More than 13,000 Acres of Public Lands for Fracking
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663 jnichols@wildearthguardians.org

Denver—Citing the need to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and keep fossil fuels in the ground, WildEarth Guardians today challenged the Obama Administration’s plans to auction off more than 13,000 acres of public lands in Colorado and Utah for fracking.

“It’s time for the Obama Administration to stop catering to the demands of the oil and gas industry and start putting our health and our climate first,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “Opening the door for fracking on our public lands is a dirty energy disaster, it’s time to keep our fossil fuels in the ground.”

In an appeal filed with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, WildEarth Guardians challenged plans to auction off 11 publicly owned oil and gas lease parcels totaling more than 13,000 acres in western Colorado and central Utah.  The Colorado auction is scheduled for May 12 in Denver and the Utah auction is scheduled for May 17 in Salt Lake City.

The frackng plans comes amid signs that fossil fuels produced from public lands are exacting a toll on the climate.  A report released in March 2015 by The Wilderness Society found that oil and gas development on public lands managed by the Interior Department is already responsible for nearly 10% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. 

These emissions are tied to drilling rigs, trucks and engines used for fracking and production, methane leaks from wells and pipelines, and the ultimate combustion of oil and gas.

In total, 23% of all U.S. climate emissions come from burning coal, oil, and gas from our public lands.

Most of these emissions are linked to fossil fuels produced from public lands in the western United States. In Utah and Colorado, more than 10 million acres of public lands are under lease by the oil and gas industry.

In spite of a clear link between oil and gas production and carbon pollution, the Interior Department is continuing auction off vast expanses of American public lands for fracking.  In May 2016, Interior is slated to auction off more than 120,000 acres in Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.

In the appeal filed today, WildEarth Guardians challenged the Interior Department’s illegal failure to account for the greenhouse gas emissions and carbon costs that would result from more fracking.

Last fall, the groups called on the Obama Administration to stop leasing oil, gas, and coal from public lands.  In January, the Administration announced a moratorium on new coal leasing, but has yet to act on oil and gas.  In response, WildEarth Guardians called on the President to put the brakes on new oil and gas leasing and commit to addressing the climate impacts of public lands fracking.

The public lands slated to be auctioned for fracking in May include portions of the San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado and tracts of central Utah’s Red Rock country.  A map showing the parcels of lands scheduled for sale in Colorado and Utah can be viewed here viewed here >>