Bureau

Calling them a common sense approach that will complement state efforts, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials Thursday unveiled revised draft rules for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on all federal and Indian lands. The draft rules will now go through a 30-day public comment period.

Calling them a common sense approach that will complement state efforts, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials Thursday unveiled revised draft rules for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on all federal and Indian lands. The draft rules will now go through a 30-day public comment period.

In addition to briefing state lawmakers Wednesday on the governor’s newly released energy policy, an adviser to Gov. Matt Mead offered a joint state legislative committee a glimpse at the governor’s proposed baseline water testing rule that would apply to oil and natural gas drillers.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is initiating an environmental analysis evaluating the impacts of seismic and other geological and geophysical activities involved in oil and gas development and the potential siting of wind turbines in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf and adjacent state waters.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday they have reached a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at bolstering the working relationship of the two agencies to improve the management of the safety and environmental protection responsibilities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has postponed a lease sale in California that was scheduled for May 22 due to budget constraints, a shift in priorities to inspection and enforcement of existing leases, and processing of new applications for permits to drill. This was the only lease sale that the agency had proposed in the state for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) did not give sufficient attention to the potential environmental impact from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) when it issued oil/gas leases for 2,500 acres two years ago, a judge in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, in San Jose ruled on Monday.

Complying with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed hydraulic fracturing (fracking) rulemaking for drilling on public lands would cost as much as $180,250/well, or $370 million annually, according to economists with Oklahoma City University (OCU).

Complying with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed hydraulic fracturing (fracking) rulemaking for drilling on public lands would cost as much as $180,250/well, or $370 million annually, according to economists with Oklahoma City University (OCU).