A group of environmental organizations filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit yesterday, claiming that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's approval of Hilcorp Alaska's Liberty oil field development in the Beaufort Sea was illegal. The organizations allege that the project approval infringed the National Environmental Policy Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. The organizations also allege that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, when making its determination for the project, infringed the Endangered Species Act.
The organizations, which consist of the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Greenpeace USA and Pacific Environment, have yet to file a court briefing, documenting in detail their arguments supporting their claim. Nor has BOEM or Hilcorp yet made any response.
- ALAN BAILEY
See story in Dec. 23 issue of Petroleum News, available online Friday, Dec. 21 at www.petroleumnews.com
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