Interior proposals aim to tighten reins on oil, gas leases

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday unveiled a set of reforms to the federal-lands oil-and-gas leasing program that require "a higher level" of government review of proposed leases and more public input. It also shifts the decision on which parcels should be offered for sale from industry to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "The change here is that public lands are no longer the candy store for the oil-and-gas industry to come in and take whatever they want," Salazar said at a news briefing. The set of proposals drew praise from environmental groups. "What they are doing is taking a closer look before leasing to determine what should be leased and what are the trade-offs," said Ann Morgan, the Wilderness Society's vice president for public lands. Requiring additional environmental reviews and public input and reducing the role of industry in nominating parcels are concerns to industry groups. The changes create "a bureaucratic command-and-control system," said Kathleen Sgamma, director of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States. Among the proposed changes: • Master leasing and development planning, which would comprehensively analyze proposed areas for drilling, assessing issues such as wildlife, watershed and land-use issues. • A required on-the-ground assessment by bureau staff of all parcels offered for sale. • Environmental reviews of all parcels with public review...read more