Washington • The Government Accountability Office has opened a probe into whether the Bureau of Land Management broke the law by identifying tracks of land for possible oil and gas drilling inside the original Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument contrary to Congress’ explicit prohibition of such activity.
The GAO confirmed Tuesday that it has accepted a request by top Democrats in the House and Senate appropriations committees to issue a legal opinion on the matter.
“It’s too early in the process for us to have any time frames yet,” GAO spokesman Charlie Young said.
In May, Rep.