When the 110th Congress begins to examine the US Department of Interior’s proposed budget for fiscal 2008 in a few weeks, it will evaluate programs in DOI agencies. One apparent success is the US Bureau of Land Management’s pilot program to improve drilling permit application processing and environmental enforcement.
Section 365 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPACT) directed the interior secretary to establish “oil and gas streamlining projects” at seven BLM offices in Rawlins and Buffalo, Wyo.; Miles City, Mont.; Farmington and Carlsbad, NM; Grand Junction-Glenwood Springs, Colo., and Vernal, Utah. The projects were established in October 2005. BLM’s Colorado office hosted two public listening sessions on Nov. 14, 2006, to discuss the effort’s first full year of operation.
Several people who testified said the program is making a difference. Marc W. Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States in Denver, noted that one of its purposes was to coordinate activities by agencies enforcing environmental regulations. “When government agencies work more efficiently, everyone wins,” he observed.
‘Resoundingly successful’
Noting that the Rocky Mountain region is poised to become the leading gas-producing area of the US this year, Smith called the effort to streamline permitting “resoundingly successful.” Alan Kesterke, BLM’s duty station officer in Cheyenne and the project’s leader for all seven offices, told OGJ: “It has gone very well. The memorandum of understanding with other key federal agencies in October 2005 helped.”
Kesterke said about 125 employees have come into the BLM offices from many other federal agencies. One result has been to make an Army Corps of Engineers specialist more readily available to deal with Section 104 permits under the Clean Water Act, or have a Fish and Wildlife Service employee on hand to deal with Section 7 clearances under the Endangered Species Act.
Jim Stovall, associate field manager in BLM’s Carlsbad, NM, office, said such local coordination has been important. “Here, the Bureau of Reclamation is based out of Albuquerque, 5 hr away, as is the Fish and Wildlife Service,” he pointed out.
Extends to states
Interagency cooperation has extended to states, Kesterke said. Employees from Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks are working in BLM’s Miles City office.
“All the agencies have been trying to identify ways to more effectively permit oil and gas development and monitor compliance after development occurs,” Kesterke said.
And the results? “Our average turnaround time has dropped from 55 days in fiscal 2005 to 37 days in fiscal 2006. That’s the most significant indicator. The number of permits processed went up from 870 in fiscal 2005 to 940 in fiscal 2006,” responded Steve Heinke, BLM’s district manager in Farmington, NM.
“The price of gas was up, so we had increased demand for access. But we were able to respond because we had more staff.”
