BLM August Oil and Gas Lease Sale Information Available

DENVER – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado is making available information on its quarterly oil and gas lease sale, to be held on August 11, 2005.  Lease sale information is available at each of the Bureau’s field offices as well as the Information Center at the Colorado State Office located in Lakewood.  Additionally, an electronic copy has been posted on the BLM’s national website at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en.html.  The August lease sale includes 92 parcels in 11 counties.

“The BLM is committed to making information available to all stakeholders on upcoming oil and gas lease sales.   Full public participation is critical to our work,” said State Director Ron Wenker.

Parties interested in receiving regular notification of the oil and gas lease sales are encouraged to contact Peggy Hooten at the State Office at 303-239-3755.  For $5 each quarterly sale, and $5 for each sale result, the Bureau will automatically send registered citizens a copy of the lease sale notification.  A minimum of $50 is required to establish an account – called a declining debit account – and will guarantee a copy of the sale notification before each quarterly sale, as well as the sale results.

Notice documents may also be obtained by calling the Information Center at 303-239-3600 up to 45 days before the sale and requesting a copy of the sale notice be sent to you.  There is a $5 charge for the sale notice.  Sale results can be requested approximately one week after the sale for an additional $5.  BLM Colorado holds oil and gas lease sales the second Thursday of February, May, August, and November.

The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and the 1987 Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act authorize leasing of Federal oil and gas resources.  The 1987 law, which amended the Mineral Leasing Act, requires each BLM state office to conduct oil and gas lease sales on at least a quarterly basis. 

Of the total acreage managed by the BLM, less than one percent experiences surface disturbance from oil and gas activity.  To minimize such impacts (the “footprint”) on the land, the Bureau analyzes the potential environmental effects from exploration and development before offering any leases for sale.  All leases come with stipulations (general requirements) on oil and gas activities to protect the environment; stipulations also can include specific restrictions, such as limits on seasons when drilling can occur and restrictions on surface occupancy by oil and gas operators. 

Once an operator proposes exploration or development on a BLM-issued lease, the Bureau carries out further environmental analysis under the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and determines the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting or "mitigation" measures.  These measures include re-vegetation, which controls soil erosion and helps curb the spread of weeds; the strategic placement of above-ground structures and machinery, with colors that blend in with the landscape, so as to reduce visual impacts; the establishment of any necessary buffer zones so that oil and gas activity does not adversely affect certain types of wildlife habitat; and the burying of power lines or pipelines under or adjacent to access roads to protect wildlife and minimize visual impacts.  In addition, many operators routinely use Best Management Practices -- such as remote sensing to monitor well production, which minimizes surface impacts – in conducting their oil and gas activities.

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