By Clair Johnson

A federal judge in Billings again has ruled the Bureau of Land Management violated federal environmental laws by failing to adequately review a phased development alternative for coalbed methane development in the Powder River Basin.

The latest ruling comes in a case filed by wildlife conservation groups that challenged BLM's 2003 statewide environmental impact statement on coalbed methane development on wildlife issues involving sage grouse and black-tailed prairie dogs. The study was conducted jointly with the state of Montana.

Groups suing

The parties suing over wildlife issues include the American Lands Alliance, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and George Wuerthner.

"BLM shot itself in the foot and squandered the opportunity to thoughtfully develop domestic energy resources while protecting wildlife,'' said Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center in Eugene, Ore., which represented the wildlife groups.

Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, said lands in the basin may hold coalbed methane reserves, but if the federal government is serious about keeping sage grouse off the Endangered Species Act list and protecting Montana's wildlife, it has to consider common-sense measures to control coalbed methane development.

"Here, quite simply, the Court agreed that the BLM failed to consider those common-sense measures,'' Molvar said.

No one at BLM was available for comment Monday.

Similar ruling

The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Richard Anderson, issued Thursday, is similar to one he issued in February in companion lawsuits brought by the Northern Plains Resource Council and the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe.

In the NPRC and tribal cases, Anderson found that BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider a reasonable range of alternatives for development, including development in phases. The judge invalidated the statewide study and ordered BLM to further review a phased development alternative.

BLM has said a supplemental study will take from 18 months to two years to complete.

Anderson also ruled in February that BLM did not violate the law by preparing two analyses - one for Montana and one for the Wyoming portion of the basin. He found that on the whole, BLM appeared to have taken a hard look at the effects of coalbed methane development.

Anderson said the American Lands Alliance raised similar claims, though they focused on the effects of development on sage grouse and black-tailed prairie dogs.

"Further environmental review on a phased development alternative necessarily requires another examination of the impacts of CBM development on sage grouse and prairie dogs,'' Anderson said. "Consequently, the (supplemental analysis) may resolve the hard look issues'' raised by the American Lands Alliance, he said.

Schlenker-Goodrich said all three lawsuits challenged the BLM's study from differing points, ranging from water quality to tribal concerns to wildlife. "However you look at it, the Court has said the agency hasn't done it right,'' he said.

"We're not surprised, but we are definitely pleased'' with the ruling, Schlenker-Goodrich said.