75NEPA Process and Specic Requirements
statement of meeting the nation’s energy crisis. The EIS was narrow in scope,
and focused just on oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The Natural
Resources Defense Council, a national environmental advocacy group sued
because the range of alternatives was too narrow. The court agreed with the
Natural Resources Defense Council that alternatives such as developing oil
shale, tar sands, eliminating oil import quotas, and geothermal resources
were appropriate under the broad purpose and need statement. If the
Department of the Interior had been more concise and identied developing
fossil fuel resources in the Gulf of Mexico, such alternatives would not have
been required and the EIS might ...