BLM settles dispute over San Juan Basin plan

The Bureau of Land Management and conservation groups have settled an eight-year dispute over a management plan for nearly 10,000 natural gas wells in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. The groups claimed the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws in developing a 2003 management plan for drilling over 20 years in the 16,000-square-mile basin that straddles the border of New Mexico and Colorado. A federal court ruled in favor of the agency in 2008, and the groups countered with an appeal. That appeal was dismissed Monday after both sides reached a compromise that, in part, calls for the BLM to consider impacts to cultural, wildlife and other resources when reviewing new lease sales. The agency also plans to hold annual meetings to discuss proposed oil and gas development in the basin, consult with tribal officials from the Navajo Nation and develop an online system that the public can access for information on existing wells and lease locations as well as proposed oil and gas projects...more