Producers may face less bureaucratic hurdles under a new US Bureau of Land Management program that government officials say will speed up the oil and gas permit approval process for resource-rich public lands. BLM says its new management plan will cut out redundancy and red tape on several fronts. Producers who submit multiple permit applications with similar characteristics, for example, will have environmental reviews processed simultaneously.
"These innovative strategies will update the permit application process while ensuring protection of cultural and other resources on the public lands," said BLM Director Kathleen Clarke Apr. 14.
Reactions predictable
Stakeholder reaction to BLM's announcement was unsurprising. Industry officials praised the agency plan, and environmental groups sharply criticized it.
"The timely processing of APDs (Applications for Permits to Drill) has become a concern over the past few years," said the Independent Petroleum Association of America. "The drilling process is extremely time-sensitive. Bureaucratic delays have a tremendous financial impact on independent producers—and can threaten entire projects altogether. Any action the federal government takes to maintain a consistent, predictable permitting timeframe will greatly help producers plan projects to meet the nation's energy needs.
"We're encouraged by BLM's decision and believe it will maintain the integrity of environmental safeguards while enhancing responsible development efforts."
Environmental groups, such as the Wilderness Society and others, argue that the BLM plan is unnecessary. They say that BLM has operated a robust oil and gas leasing program for many years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. BLM instead should focus on finding better ways to protect millions of acres of fragile landscapes, rather than trying to short-circuit necessary environmental reviews, the society said.
Consistency sought
Under the new streamlining plan, BLM says it will allow staff to conduct "block" surveys of cultural resources instead of taking a more-traditional "linear" approach in which land surveyors examine individual wells.
BLM also wants to be more consistent about permit application approvals. Industry says BLM needs to make its decisions more uniform so producers can better predict whether a lease will be commercially attractive. Environmentalists argue that BLM's plan may lead to a "cookie-cutter" leasing approval process that ignores seasonal or special stipulations for certain areas.
BLM's efforts are part of the White House's national energy strategy first unveiled 2 years ago. Pending congressional energy legislation also seeks to make drilling on public land easier by reducing administrative paperwork and legal challenges.
The Senate is considering a plan sponsored by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) that authorizes the White House to create an office of "Federal Energy Permit Coordination" staffed from federal agencies. The office director also would prepare an annual report to Congress making recommendations for "systemic improvement" needed in the federal permitting process.