Opinion ID: 331837
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mootness of the Technical Assessment Question.

Text: 25 CFR § 177.4(a)(1) provides: 58 In connection with an application for a permit or lease, the superintendent shall make, or cause to be made, a technical examination of the prospective effects of the proposed exploration or surface mining operations upon the environment. . . . 59 No technical assessment pursuant to 25 CFR § 177.4 was submitted prior to the approval of the leases in June, 1972. However, the assessment was subsequently undertaken and was submitted in the summer of 1973; its adequacy is not challenged here. 60 Given the present posture of the case, we reach neither the question of whether appellants have standing to challenge the failure to conduct a timely technical assessment nor that of the effect of such a delay. Since the approval of the leases must now be re-evaluated in the light of the comprehensive EIS, the completed technical assessment will be available to the decision-makers at the appropriate time. We conclude, then, that appellants' claim with respect to the § 177.4 violation has been mooted by the disposition of this appeal. 61