Reagan Era Energy Lessee Files Brief: No Right to Cancel Its Lease ( BLM : Montana )

Fairfield Sun Times ^ | February 2, 2016

[george76]

A Louisiana man issued a federal oil and gas lease in 1982, but denied the right to explore his property since approval of his application for permit to drill (APD) in 1985, recently responded formally to a brief filed by the United States government in which it argued that it has authority to cancel his lease and will cancel his lease as soon as its proposed schedule for doing so is approved by the federal court.

Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) represents Sidney Longwell of Baton Rouge, whose company Solenex, LLC owns the Reagan-era lease, and which sued Secretary of the Interior Jewell and Interior and Agriculture Department officials in federal district court in the District of Columbia seeking authority to drill on his leases as the law allows, a right denied him since 1983. MSLF's brief on behalf of Mr. Longwell and Solenex follows the lifting of a stay by the district court following the Christmas holidays. In its response, MSLF sought oral arguments similar to those held on June 10 and October 6, 2015.

"The government does not have legal authority to cancel the lease; it cannot abruptly change its position on the legality of the energy lease after 33 years; and it is barred from changing its position regarding the lease to the detriment of a private party, " says William Perry Pendley of MSLF.

In June 1982, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued Mr. Longwell a 6,247 acre oil and gas lease on federal land in northwestern Montana

[DoughtyOne]

[MarMema]

THE BLM will send out their mafia until you give in. Hide your pets and children.

[MarMema]

be sure to stand in the first amendment area if you have objections.

[Defiant]

I read the article, but it doesn’t say what the terms of the lease say as to duration, right to cancel, etc. It would seem that if they don’t permit use of the land, or drilling, at a minimum, they would required to give back any money paid for the lease. Potentially, the government would be required to permit the leaseholder to drill and explore the land.

[MarMema]

http://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/5997-president-obama-proposes-1-3-billion-budget-for-blm-in-fiscal-year-2017 "The Department of the Interior will submit a legislative proposal to authorize permanent annual funding, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the innovative, highly successful program that reinvests royalties from offshore oil and gas activities into public lands across the Nation. In 2017, the proposal includes $43.9 million in discretionary funding and $44.8 million in mandatory funding for the BLM’s land acquisition program."

[MarMema]

http://kval.com/news/local/lane-county-prepares-to-join-lawsuit-against-blm

[george76]

No combination of excuses could possibly justify such ineptitude or recalcitrance for such an epic period of time,” declared federal judge Richard J. Leon, who ordered the federal government to come up with a schedule, in 21 days [ in 2015 ] , to reach a decision on the suspension status of the application.

The judge said Longwell’s case “by any measure” constitutes an “unreasonable delay.”

Longwell’s lease is next to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. The tribe’s leadership doesn’t want drilling on the site

http://watchdog.org/232112/76-year-old/