HELENA – The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says it will reconsider more than 100 oil and gas leases in eastern Montana and western North Dakota, as part of a settlement agreement with environmental groups. Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center filed suit in federal court last year, on behalf of WildEarth Guardians, Montana Environmental Information Center, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and Waterkeeper Alliance. The groups challenged five lease sales conducted in 2019 and 2020, arguing the BLM’s environmental analysis didn’t adequately consider the potential impacts.
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