Climate change cited as Mont. leases suspended

Tools

By The Associated Press

Story Published: Mar 18, 2010 at 10:00 PM MST

Story Updated: Mar 18, 2010 at 10:00 PM MST

BILLINGS - A lawyer for environmentalist groups is calling a settlement that requires the government to suspend 38,000 acres of oil and gas leases in Montana a "very big deal."

A federal judge has approved the first-of-its-kind agreement in which the Bureau of Land Management will suspend the 61 leases in Montana within 90 days so it can gauge how oil field activities contribute to climate change.

At issue are the greenhouse gases emitted by drilling machinery and industry practices such as venting natural gas directly into the atmosphere. The environmentalists had argued the industry has allowed too much waste and uses inefficient technologies that could easily be updated.

The BLM says reviewing lease sales for climate change would be a first for the agency.

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

KULR-8 News, Sports, Weather and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Your Weather Authority

Icon
Current Temp 22.0 °F
Overcast
Wind : Northeast at
17.3 mph
Humidity : 75 %
Pressure : 30.21 in
More Weather

Party America Sky Cam

More Weather

On Demand

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

Links We Like