The Bureau of Land Management has begun paving the way for new oil and gas leases in California, concluding in draft environmental analyses that new drilling would not significantly harm public health or the environment. The analyses — which BLM’s Bakersfield Field Office and Central Coast Field Office released on Monday — cover potential leases in large swaths of federal land in central and coastal California. The draft supplemental environmental impact statements conclude that future emissions from oil and gas development in the area would be “minor.” BLM is considering various leasing options after years of litigation over drilling in the region.

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