Report disputes Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's claims of 'rushed' energy leases in Utah

WASHINGTON — An investigative report by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's own Office of Inspector General disputes his claims that oil and gas parcels offered for lease at a controversial December 2008 auction in Salt Lake City were "rushed."

Salazar used that reason to justify pulling 77 parcels that had been bid on in the Bureau of Land Management auction, asserting that they were offered as a result of a rushed midnight decision by the Bush administration.

The report released Monday said an investigation "found no evidence to support the allegation that undue pressure was exerted on BLM personnel" to complete the resource management plans so the parcels could be offered prior to a change in the White House administration.

It did note, however, that the BLM contributed to the "perception" that the lease-sale was rushed because the agency failed to notify the National Park Service in advance, as is standard, and refused to defer parcels on which the service sought additional reviews for their eligibility.

Arguing that too many of the parcels were located on the doorsteps of national treasures such as Arches National Park, Salazar rescinded the leases, leading to an uproar in Utah by county officials and state policymakers, who said the move cost millions in lost revenue and usurped a lengthy review process.

The controversial auction and subsequent pulling of the leases led Salazar to send an on-the-ground review team to Utah to personally inspect the parcels and determine if they were suitable to be auctioned.

Salazar's team later determined that 17 of the parcels could be reoffered at auction, eight were inappropriate and the remaining parcels merited additional review.

The report refutes allegations made by a regional NPS official who said he believed the state BLM director and two others in the agency exerted pressure to conduct the sale prior to the change in presidential administrations.

"We reviewed e-mails of (the trio) and identified approximately 200 e-mails pertaining" to the sale, the report states. Those e-mails lacked any evidence to support the park service official's claim and also confirmed the resource management plans had been an ongoing process for more than seven years, the report noted.

Additionally, even though a "confidential witness" asserted the same allegation, the report said the witness could not provide any evidence beyond an opinion, could not identify any employee who may have felt pressured and was unaware of any policies or regulations the BLM director may have violated.

Uintah, Duchesne and Carbon counties have since sued the Department of Interior, alleging Salazar lacked the authority to pull the leases.