The Nation - News from Jan. 16, 1986

The Interior Department asked a federal appeals court in San Francisco to issue a quick decision on whether the government may proceed with a disputed Alaskan oil lease sale blocked by a judge in Anchorage. The Interior Department told the appeals court that U.S. District Judge James von der Heydt erred in halting the sale on environmental grounds. The brief asked that the issue be decided in the government’s favor and sent back to Alaska so that bidders for the oil know where they stand.