Facts

Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres Forestwatch filed a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the federal Bureau of Land Management, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, BLM Director Neil Kornze, and California State Director of the BLM James Kenna, challenging efforts to open up public lands to fracking.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs were conservationists opposed to fracking filed this complaint challenging the current administration's efforts to open public lands in California to oil drilling and fracking. Plaintiffs sought to preserve a lease moratorium on public land in the counties of Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara as well as public lands in the southern Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. Plaintiffs asserted causes of action for violations of NEPA for failing to identify alternatives, failing to analyze environmental impacts, and failing to prepare supplemental environmental impact statements.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
The federal defendants denied plaintiffs' allegations and maintain its full compliance with the NEPA.

Result

BLM agreed to settle the dispute by holding off on its plans to start fracking and oil drilling in California. Under the settlement, the BLM agreed to generate a National Environmental Policy Act documentation that adequately addresses the risks of fracking.