Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed legislation (HB 143) Saturday approving the use of eminent domain to recover energy-rich land in the state from the federal government.

The legislation, crafted by state Rep. Chris Herrod, was one of 48 bills that the governor signed into law, and comes as the federal government’s ownership of Utah land has grown significantly over the years. It’s estimated that more than 70% of the state is federally owned and managed.

The new law could certainly trigger a lawsuit on constitutional grounds, and the state likely will be on the losing end. When Utah was admitted to the Union in 1894, it agreed to give up claim to the lands in question and, as a result, does not have sovereign power over the land to claim eminent domain. In short, Utah would lose a court battle, said Mike Carey, a Republican candidate for the Utah House.

However, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he believes the case is still worth fighting, simply because of the millions of dollars that it could mean for state schools each year, the Associated Press reported.

Since the Obama administration took office, it has withdrawn a large number of parcels in Utah from oil and natural gas exploration. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar took the most dramatic step in February 2009 when he refused to accept producers’ bids on 77 parcels, citing their “close proximity” to the Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Dinosaur National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon. He called the areas “our most treasured landscapes” in Utah (see Daily GPI, Feb. 5, 2009).

Because of the outcry from producers, Utah counties and on Capitol Hill, a Bureau of Land Management-led team reviewed the secretary’s decision. A report which was issued by the team last October had glum news for producers. It recommended that only 22% of 77 disputed oil and natural gas parcels in northeastern Utah be reissued, and that the department make significant reforms of its onshore and offshore leasing process, which could put more public land out of the reach of producers (see Daily GPI, Oct. 12, 2009).

Of the 77 parcels that Salazar withdrew, the report recommended reissuing only 17 of the oil and gas parcels, deferring 52 parcels and withdrawing eight parcels from future leasing.

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