International Herald Tribune Editorial -Losing patience
International Herald Tribune Editorial -Losing patience
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: August 21, 2007
Dirk Kempthorne's arrival in Washington as secretary of the interior raised hope that he would moderate the Bush administration's aggressive search for oil and gas in some of America's most environmentally sensitive lands. This has not happened. The Bureau of Land Management seems to be moving as recklessly as it did under Kempthorne's predecessor, Gale Norton, and even the administration's natural allies have finally had enough.
Last Friday, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership sued the Interior Department to protest the recent authorization of 2,000 new oil and gas wells, along with 1,000 miles of roads and another 1,000 miles of pipeline in a wildlife-rich area of Wyoming known as the Atlantic Rim. The suit accuses the bureau of multiple violations of federal law, including the requirement that it fully assess less destructive alternatives.
This is the partnership's first lawsuit against the government, and one it did not undertake lightly - in part because the hunters and anglers who make up the bulk of its membership tend to be largely Republican.
What drove the partnership into court was the administration's reckless disregard for the law. If that does not get Kempthorne's attention, nothing will.
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: August 21, 2007
Dirk Kempthorne's arrival in Washington as secretary of the interior raised hope that he would moderate the Bush administration's aggressive search for oil and gas in some of America's most environmentally sensitive lands. This has not happened. The Bureau of Land Management seems to be moving as recklessly as it did under Kempthorne's predecessor, Gale Norton, and even the administration's natural allies have finally had enough.
Last Friday, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership sued the Interior Department to protest the recent authorization of 2,000 new oil and gas wells, along with 1,000 miles of roads and another 1,000 miles of pipeline in a wildlife-rich area of Wyoming known as the Atlantic Rim. The suit accuses the bureau of multiple violations of federal law, including the requirement that it fully assess less destructive alternatives.
This is the partnership's first lawsuit against the government, and one it did not undertake lightly - in part because the hunters and anglers who make up the bulk of its membership tend to be largely Republican.
What drove the partnership into court was the administration's reckless disregard for the law. If that does not get Kempthorne's attention, nothing will.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:49 AM
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