Oil and gas companies are asking federal judges to force the U.S. Department of Interior to move more quickly on issuing oil and gas leases. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver heard arguments Tuesday about whether the Department's Bureau of Land Management must issue oil and gas leases within 60 days after they're sold. The energy companies want to overturn a federal ruling issued last year in Wyoming. The Wyoming judge said BLM needed to decide whether to issue an oil or gas lease within 60 days of auctioning it off. The lawsuit followed years of delays in issuing hundreds of leases in the West amid environmental protests. The decision could affect pending leases in Colorado and Utah.
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