Feds seek to settle Bush-era lawsuits over shale policies

The federal government is seeking to settle litigation involving oil shale policies established during the Bush administration, and is describing negotiations as “productive.” Government attorneys pointed to the settlement talks last week in court filings asking for yet another extension of the government’s deadline to answer the litigation. Colorado U.S. District Court Judge John Kane agreed to the government’s request to extend that deadline to Nov. 16. Conservation groups filed two lawsuits on Jan. 16, during George W. Bush’s last days in office. The suits challenge regulations the Bureau of Land Management issued in November for commercial oil shale development, and its earlier identification of 1.9 million acres of public land for potential oil shale development in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. This is the fifth extension the government has been given to respond to the suits...Sentinel