Interior Department Halts 77 Oil and Gas Leases; House Dems Call for Further Freeze

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar voided oil and gas leases on 77 parcels of federal land that the Bush administration had auctioned off just a month before President Bush left office. Salazar said he was canceling the leases while the department re-evaluates the studies that permitted the parcels to be leased, claiming that the Bush administration rushed to lease the land without properly accessing potential environmental impacts. A day after Salazar's announcement, 75 Democratic House members are asked for a freeze on all leases on lands designated as wilderness. The lawmakers said the freeze would give the agency time to further review the suitability of such tracts for leasing and development.  Republicans and industry proponents rebuked Salazar's decision conflicts with the Obama administration's pledge to move toward energy independence. Last Wednesday, Minority Leader John A. Boehnir (R-OH) asked Salazar to approve an offshore drilling plan drafted by Bush that would authorize 31 oil and gas lease sales between 2010 and 2015. Read more at Washington Post