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Lawsuit: Government ignored climate change impacts when it approved Utah oil, gas leases

A coalition of environmental organizations allege in a new lawsuit that the U.S. government failed to adequately analyze climate change impacts while approving 130 oil and gas leases in Utah.

The lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Bureau of Land Management officials of violating the National Environmental Policy Act in approving leases on about 274 square miles of land in rural Utah from 2014 to 2018.

Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Kimberly Finch declined comment since it's a pending lawsuit.

The lawsuit accuses the agency of "dutifully" implementing President Donald Trump's push to ramp up oil and gas drilling on public lands.

The lawsuit that was filed jointly by the Center for Biological Diversity, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Living Rivers asks for the sales to be invalidated.

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By The Associated Press