Uintah County commissioners agreed to retain a Washington, D.C., attorney to represent the interests of the county in federal court. Mike Lee, who will act as independent counsel for the county, is a member of the bar in federal district court in the District of Columbia.

Lee is also a public lands specialist who will intervene on behalf of the county in litigation regarding the challenge to oil and gas leasing on Bureau of Land Management lands in the Basin. The lawsuit requests a cessation to all leasing until such time as federal procedures may be finalized.

Case No. 1:08-cv-02187-RMU was filed before the close of the Bush administration. It charges defendants C. Stephen Allred, former assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management, and Kent Hoffman, former deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management as hastily preparing resource management plans (RMPs).

The lawsuit represents the interests of 11 conservation groups and cites numerous flaws with the Vernal RMP and final environmental impact statement.

At this time, both Duchesne and Daggett counties have offered support for Uintah County’s efforts. The State Institutional Trust Lands Administration has also filed a separate to suit re-establish leasing on public lands.

mbernard@vernal.com