ONSHORE OIL AND GAS ORDER NUMBER 1

This is from the website of the Landowners Association of Wyoming:

The BLM has proposed to change its regulations with regards to oil and gas company operations on split estate lands to supercede Wyoming's new split estate law. The comment period has been extended to October 25. Please take a moment to submit your comments in opposition to this rule change to:

BLM Director 7450 Boston Boulevard, Springfield, VA 22153

or email:

BLM Director (comments_washington@blm.gov)

Simply put, the BLM's proposed changes attempt to invalidate the Wyoming State Surface Owner Accommodation Act on 11 million acres of private lands underlain by federal minerals.

This would leave the State Statute, which was passed overwhelmingly by the Wyoming State Legislature, to apply only to 1 million acres of land in Wyoming. Not only is this an attempt by the federal government to supercede state law, but among other things, the proposed changes would be onerous to private landowners in that it would:

1. Eliminate the 30 day notice period by requiring notice to the landowner at the time the BLM official calls to schedule a Notice of Staking.
2. Eliminate the landowner from the Joint Planning procedure which required the operator and landowner to sit down together to establish future plans that recognize the right to drill for oil and gas but also recognize the right of the private landowner to operate those lands in productive and profitable ways. This rule would allow the BLM official to finalize the operator's proposed plan of activity without identifying proposed wells, by only requiring surface "reclamation" rather than "restoration", and without the input of the private landowner.
3. Eliminate the requirement to compensate the landowner for all of the damages that he/she incurs from the drilling activity and instead limit the compensation to "damage to tangible improvement and growing crops." [This provision not only ignores the provisions in the Wyoming statute, but also in the 1981 Montana statute and the 1979 North Dakota statute regarding compensation for lost land value.]

Don't underestimate the power of your comments! Thank you for taking the time, one more time, to protect the private property rights of landowners impacted by underlying federal oil and gas development.

You can view the proposed regulatory changes here, and you and view the comments submitted by LAW here.

If you are interested in the split estate issue, or if you own property but not the mineral estate underlying the surface, you really need to comment on these proposed changes. Clearly, in their rush to increase oil and gas production, BLM is cutting the surface estate owner out of the process and pre-empting the twelve states which have passed legislation to protect the surface owner. My fellow New Mexicans should also remember we had split estate legislation which passed the House during the last session of the legislature and the Governor is on record to put it in his call for the next session. Please take the time to comment and help protect the property rights of the surface owner and the sovereignty of our state governments.

THE DEADLINE FOR COMMENT IS OCTOBER 25TH!