About 75% of Wyoming gas, 56% of Wyoming oil is federally owned; bill would circumvent snail-paced federal permitting and allow faster development
From the Casper Star-Tribune
Wyoming’s Sen. John Barrasso has followed in the footsteps of another member of Wyoming’s delegation, sponsoring a bill to allow states greater regulatory authority of oil and gas development on federal lands.
The ONSHORE Act, introduced to the U.S. Senate on Thursday, would set up a mechanism for states like Wyoming to prove they have a state program that can effectively develop and produce oil and gas on federal land. Upon approval, states could take over some responsibilities currently covered by agencies like the Bureau of Land Management.
ONSHORE would increase mineral revenue for states and “eliminate unnecessary regulations,” Barrasso said in a statement Thursday.
“Punishing regulations and permitting delays have plagued the federal oil and gas permitting process for years,” Barrasso said. “Wyoming and other states have shown they are well-equipped to responsibly and effectively manage oil and gas development on federal land.
The measure is similar to one introduced by Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney last year, which passed through committee in the U.S. House in November.
In addition to giving states access to regulatory leadership, Cheney’s bill focused on protecting landowners from federal permitting when wells were drilled on private land, but accessed federally owned minerals.
It was criticized by environmental advocates in Wyoming, who maintained that federal management offered the public opportunities to control what happens on public lands.
In a letter that the Wyoming Outdoor Council sent to Cheney in October, the organization argued that it understood the importance of oil and gas development.
“But we also know there are ways it can be done right, in locations that make sense,” the letter states. “And there are some places where it shouldn’t happen.”
A spokesman for the organization, Dustin Bleizeffer, said its position was unchanged in regard to Barrasso’s iteration of the bill.
“It’s not that we don’t trust the state to do a thorough job, “he said. “In a lot of ways, Wyoming has led the evolution of how to manage and regulate these activities.”
However, in contrast to the claims from the senators proposing the bill, Bleizeffer said the federal process for permitting and drilling does not reduce the economic boon from industry development.
“What would be at odds with economic development would be poorly managed development and development that is planned without Wyoming input and the input of all Americans,” he said.
Agency supervisor of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Mark Watson, also responded to the Cheney measure when it came out last year. He said the state was best placed to regulate its industry, but that he could not comment on the bill one way or the other. It did not offer specifics on how state responsibility would be carried out, he said.
The supervisor could not comment on Barrasso’s bill by the Star-Tribune’s press time, but in a statement to Congress in October, he said Wyoming was equipped to handle permitting on federal land. In a later interview, Watson said that did not necessarily include the vast environmental work federal agencies do in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
He has argued that Wyoming and the BLM are best served by working together.
Barrasso’s bill does offer some additional details in comparison to the House measure.
A spokeswoman for the senator said he had spoken with individuals and officials in Wyoming on regulatory issues raised in the bill.
Approval of a state plan would fall to the interior secretary, currently Ryan Zinke, based on whether the state can be “as effective” as the Interior at issuing drilling permission and evaluating drilling plans submitted by oil and gas companies.
States would also have to prove they have the staff and technical expertise to carry out their programs. They would then sign agreements with federal agencies to assign responsibilities for enforcement and inspection, an addition to the Cheney version.
The state would be allowed to keep 100 percent of the fees associated with development.
The money would be a boon. About 75 percent of Wyoming natural gas, and 56 percent of Wyoming oil, is federally owned or beneath federal surface.
In a presentation from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to state lawmakers last summer, the agency said that the Bureau of Land Management permitting process at times takes substantially longer than the state process.
Wyoming has come under pressure due to the backlog of drilling applications at some federal offices. The Casper Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management had 627 applications pending last January, the largest wait list in the country.
Officials have said in earlier interviews with the Star-Tribune that part of the backlog came down to personnel turn over at a busy time.
The field office has made strides in the past year to address applications to drill, a spokeswoman for Wyoming BLM said in an email Thursday. The current pending list at the Casper office is at 329.
After introduction, ONSHORE will be assigned to committee for further debate.
