Additional Proposed Changes to Federal Oil and Gas Regulations
Would Improve Energy Development on Public Lands
In a move that will help the nation meet its energy needs, the Bureau
of Land Management and the Forest Service are jointly proposing further
revisions of regulations governing oil and gas activity on the public
lands. These further proposed revisions supplement an earlier proposal – published
by the two agencies in July 2005 – that would revise an existing
set of regulations known as Onshore Oil and Gas Order Number 1. The
Order’s regulations establish the requirements that companies must
meet to obtain approval for oil and gas exploration and development on
all Federal and Indian lands (except those of the Osage Tribe).
“America needs environmentally sound energy development to ensure
its economic well-being and national security,” said Tom Lonnie,
the BLM’s Assistant Director for Minerals, Realty and Resource
Protection. “This nation’s onshore public lands contain
abundant supplies of energy, so updating Federal oil and gas regulations
is an essential part of securing our country’s energy future.”
Lonnie noted that, based on government estimates, Federal lands contain
significant amounts of undiscovered onshore oil and natural gas. A
detailed oil and gas inventory found that Federal lands in five key Western
geologic basins – located in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado,
and New Mexico – contain nearly 140 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas, which is enough natural gas to supply 55 million homes for the next
30 years.
The BLM’s and Forest Service’s latest proposed regulatory
revisions, published in today’s Federal Register, would
implement portions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by making Order Number
1’s drilling permit provisions consistent with those in the Act. The
new energy law contains a timeline for processing drilling permit applications – known
as Applications for Permits to Drill (APDs) – that differs slightly
from the one contained in the regulatory proposal of July 2005. Besides
making the timeline in Order Number 1 consistent with that in the Energy
Policy Act, today’s further proposed revision specifies what constitutes
a “complete” APD package. This latest proposal also
makes clear that the BLM and Forest Service intend to continue requiring
an on-site inspection before determining that an APD package is complete.
In addition, the proposal published today would require additional bonding
in split-estate situations where a lessee cannot reach agreement with
an Indian surface owner. This provision would put into regulatory
form the BLM’s existing policy regarding split-estate circumstances
involving Indian surface owners. (Split-estate lands are those
on which the surface is owned by a private or other non-Federal party
while the Federal government owns the sub-surface minerals. Under
the Bureau’s existing split-estate policy, oil and gas developers
must make a good-faith effort to reach an access agreement with surface
owners. In cases where an agreement is not reached, developers
must obtain a bond that provides for compensation to owners for certain
economic losses, as specified by law.)
The Federal Register notice published today opens up a 30-day
comment period during which the public may submit written comments on
the further proposed revisions to Onshore Oil and Gas Order Number 1. (The
notice also re-opens for 30 days the comment period on the July 2005
regulatory proposal.) Those who would like to comment may mail
their comments to: Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Eastern
States Office, 7450 Boston Boulevard, Springfield, Virginia, 22153, Attention: RIN
1004-AD59. Comments may also be hand-delivered to 1620 L Street
N.W., Suite 401, Washington, D.C. 20036. Comments may also be e-mailed
to: comments_washington@blm.gov (include “Attn: AD59” in
the subject line).
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 land is located in 12 Western States, including
Alaska. With a budget of about $1.8 billion, the Bureau also administers
700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.
The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
manages 193 million acres of Federal lands in 44 states, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands.
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