President’s FY 2007 Budget Request
of $1.8 Billion for BLM
Would Advance Environmentally Sound Energy Development
WASHINGTON – The Bush Administration today proposed a budget of
$1.8 billion for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management
in Fiscal Year 2007, including a $25.4 million increase in its energy
and minerals program aimed primarily at boosting the development of energy
from America’s public lands in an environmentally sound manner.
Funding increases for energy activities will support the BLM’s implementation
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and energy initiatives on Alaska’s
North Slope. The President’s budget proposal also contains a $3
million increase for “Enduring Legacy,” a major cultural resource
enhancement initiative.
“This budget request supports BLM’s multiple-use mission
and advances key national priorities,” BLM Director Kathleen Clarke
said. “Environmentally sound energy development on public lands
is one vital part of our national strategy to ensure our economic and
national security.”
Clarke added, “The President’s budget proposal will also
help our agency meet the challenges of managing public land resources
and uses in the fast-growing, fast-changing West.” The BLM’s
top priorities, Clarke said, are to contribute to the nation’s energy
supply; to manage healthy and productive rangelands, forests, and watersheds
for thriving economies and communities; to improve dispersed recreational
opportunities; and to protect cultural and natural heritage resources.
Of the proposed $25.4 million increase for energy programs, $12.4 million
would support exploration and development of energy on Alaska’s
North Slope and respond to environmental risks related to legacy wells
in the area. The budget proposal assumes congressional authorization of
oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
on Alaska’s North Slope in 2006. If Congress authorizes such development,
the BLM would use a portion of the money to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement and take steps leading toward exploration and development in
ANWR, where anticipated lease sales in 2008 and 2010 would generate a
projected total of $8 billion in bonus bids.
The funding proposal for energy includes $9.2 million to ensure the
BLM’s timely processing of oil and gas drilling permit applications.
Of the $9.2 million, $4.3 million would be used by the BLM to process
approximately 1,100 permit applications in Fiscal Year 2007, $2.8 million
would fund inspections relating to environmental compliance and production
verification, and $2.1 million would support increased energy-related
monitoring. Separate from the $9.2 million, the budget proposes a $3.3
million increase to manage the BLM’s oil shale research and development
leasing program.
The additional $3 million for the cultural resource enhancement initiative
“Enduring Legacy” would strengthen protection for cultural
sites, increase the number of volunteers and partnerships, and support
heritage tourism workshops. An additional $3 million for the Western Oregon
forestry program will strengthen its efforts to increase the volume of
timber offered for sale.
The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more
land – 261 million surface acres – than any other Federal
agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western states, including
Alaska. The Bureau also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral
estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is
to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use
and enjoyment of present and future generations.
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