Center For Biological Diversity v. Debra Haaland

I. INTRODUCTION

On September 28, 2022, plaintiff filed suit against Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM7”), and BOEM Pacific Regional Director Douglas Boren. Dkt. 1 (“Compl.”). Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”), the Secretary of the Interior may lease areas of the outer continental shelf for the purposes of exploring and developing the oil and gas deposits of submerged lands. Id. 4 28 (citing 43 U.S.C. §§ 1331-1356b). As part of the development process for the leasing, OCSLA requires lessees to submit development and production plans (““DPPs”) to the Secretary of the Interior for review and approval. Id. OCSLA additionally requires that the “Secretary shall, from time to time, review each plan approved|.]” Id. Plaintiff alleges that the responsible federal agencies have failed, as required by OCSLA, to review the DPPs relating to the Beta Unit offshore platforms established in the 1980s off LA and Orange Counties. Plaintiff alleges that studies indicating that the platforms and pipelines have deteriorated in quality over the past four decades demonstrates that review of the DPPs, if any, was…