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CONSERVATION GROUPS’ COMMENTS <br />UNCOMPAHGRE FIELD OFFICE RMP AND DEIS <br />iv <br />TABLE OF CONTENTS <br /> <br />I. BLM Must Consider Existing, New, and Revised National Policy on Climate Change Into <br />RMP Decisionmaking. ........................................................................................................... 1 <br />A. BLM Failed to Consider National Policy on Climate Change in Agency <br />Decisionmaking. .............................................................................................................. 4 <br />B. BLM Failed to Consider Recent Climate Science and Carbon Budgeting. ..................... 5 <br />II. BLM Fails to Consider All Reasonable Alternatives. .......................................................... 15 <br />A. BLM Has a Legal Obligation to Consider All Reasonable Alternatives. ...................... 15 <br />B. BLM Fails to Consider a Range of Reasonable Alternatives. ....................................... 18 <br />C. BLM Must Consider the No Fossil Fuel Leasing Alternative in Response to Threats <br />Posed by Climate Change. ............................................................................................. 22 <br />1. BLM Has Legal Authority to Not Issue New Oil and Gas or Coal Leases on Public <br />Lands in the Uncompahgre Area. ............................................................................... 22 <br />2. No-Leasing or Limited Leasing Alternatives Meet the RMP’s Purpose and Need. ... 24 <br />3. The Draft EIS’s Justifications for Rejecting No-Leasing Alternatives Are Arbitrary <br />and Capricious. ........................................................................................................... 25 <br />4. BLM Cannot Forego Analysis of a “No-Leasing” Alternative for Coal by Instead <br />Relying on the Programmatic EIS. ............................................................................. 27 <br />D. BLM Must Analyze Alternatives That Require Coal Mines in the Uncompahgre <br />Planning Area to Mitigate Climate Impacts by Capturing or Flaring Methane <br />Emissions. ...................................................................................................................... 28 <br />1. BLM Has the Legal Authority to Require Mines That Operate on Public Lands to <br />Capture or Flare Methane. .......................................................................................... 28 <br />2. It Is Critically Important To Reduce Methane Emissions In Order To Limit Climate <br />Damages. ..................................................................................................................... 30 <br />3. Existing Technologies Could Significantly Reduce Methane Emissions From Coal <br />Mines in the Uncompahgre Planning Area. ................................................................ 31 <br />E. BLM Must Explicitly Consider a Renewable Energy Alternative or Include Renewable <br />Energy as a Priority Element in Each Alternative. ........................................................ 35 <br />III. The UFO Failed to Take a Hard Look at Climate Change Impacts. ..................................... 39 <br />A. The Draft EIS Fails To Address Whether the Alternatives Considered Are Consistent <br />with National Climate Goals. ......................................................................................... 48 <br />B. The Draft EIS Relies on Outdated Data Concerning Climate Change. ......................... 50 <br />C. The Draft EIS Fails to Address New Information Concerning the Impacts of Climate <br />Change in the Uncompahgre Area. ................................................................................ 51 <br />D. The Draft EIS Relies on Outdated Coal Production and Employment Data. ................ 58 <br />E. BLM Must Quantify the Severity of Harm from Greenhouse Gas Emissions............... 62