Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Hodel

Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Hodel

Opinion

 [*291]  GINSBURG, RUTH B., *R, and SENTELLE, Circuit Judges:

This case requires the court, for the third time, to review a five-year schedule of offshore oil and gas leasing activity proposed by the Secretary of the Interior. For the reasons stated in this opinion, we hold that the Secretary failed to perform an adequate analysis of the cumulative impacts of the program on migratory species. We remand that matter to the Secretary but uphold the program in all other respects.

I. BACKGROUND

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), 43 U.S.C. §§ 1331-1356 (1982), enacted in 1953, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to sell leases to develop oil and gas deposits in the OCS. Congress amended the statute in 1978 to promote the rational development of OCS resources. As delineated in the amended Act, the purposes of OCSLA include the "expedited exploration [**3]  and development of the Outer Continental Shelf in order to achieve national economic and energy policy goals,  [*292]  assure national security, reduce dependence on foreign sources, and maintain a favorable balance of payments in world trade," but these objectives are to be balanced with "protection of the human, marine, and coastal environments." Id. § 1802(1)-(2).

OCSLA, as amended, describes and governs a five-step process: (1) the promulgation of a five-year leasing program, id. § 1344; (2) lease sales, id. § 1337; (3) exploration, id. § 1340; (4) development and production, id. § 1351; and (5) sale of recovered minerals. Id. § 1353. At various points throughout the development of the leasing program, OCSLA provides for participation by Congress, affected state and local governments, relevant federal agencies, and the public. Id. 1344(c)-(d), (f).

Section 18 of OCSLA, id. § 1344, requires the Secretary to prepare, maintain, and periodically revise a leasing program consisting of a schedule of proposed lease sales. Under section 18(a), the Secretary is to indicate "as precisely as possible, the size, timing and location of leasing activity."

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