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Attorneys in Dispute Over Energy Lease Want Case Put on Hold

Lease owner Solenex LLC of Baton Rouge, Louisiana sued in 2013 over the repeated delays

By Dillon Tabish

BILLINGS — The Interior Department and a Louisiana energy company are asking a federal judge to pause court proceedings in a dispute over a drilling lease near Glacier National Park.

Attorneys for the two sides said in a Wednesday court filing that they want more time to see if they can resolve the case outside of court.

They asked U.S. District Judge Richard Leon to put the case on hold until Jan. 8.

The Interior Department last month said it plans to cancel the 6,200-acre lease. It was granted in 1982 on land considered sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of the U.S. and Canada.

Lease owner Solenex LLC of Baton Rouge, Louisiana sued in 2013 over the repeated delays it’s faced from federal officials as it seeks to develop the site.

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