Mining Provision Still in Reconciliation Bill: Would Include 20,000 Acres in National Parks
Tomorrow (Wednesday), the House leadership will bring to the floor a reconciliation bill that still contains a mining provision that could lead to the sale of millions of acres of public lands at $1,000 per acre. The provision would allow the sale of existing and future mining claims on public lands, National Forest lands, and lands in our National Parks, even if the purchaser never intends to mine the claims.
Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA), maintains that the provision would affect only 360,000 acres nationwide, but the truth is that a conservative estimate of the provision's reach is at least 6 million acres, including more than 900 "unpatented" mining claims in National Park units (more than 700 in California) totaling nearly 20,000 acres. Claimants would not even have to prove that their claims contain mineral deposits before they can purchase the rights to the land. We would be happy to provide you with a state-by-state breakdown of the potential claims on both BLM and National Park Service lands.
[Contact: Dave Alberswerth, TWS, 202-429-2695]
Energy Corridors – Majestic Western Views Could Be Replaced with Miles of Oil & Gas Pipelines and Electricity Facilities
The Department of Interior, Division of Wildlife, and the US Department of Energy are proposing energy corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and facilities that could stretch across the American West.
As mandated by the 2005 Energy Bill, environmental impact reviews, corridor designations, and the updating of affected Resource Management Plans (RMPs) are required to be completed in two years for the 11 contiguous western states that are included in this first of two rounds of corridor designation ,encompassing Montana down to New Mexico and every state west to the Pacific. A second round for designating energy corridors for all remaining states is supposed to be completed in 4 years.
In the end, what can make or break this proposal will be how it’s administered. Conservationist agree that the consolidation of energy infrastructures into a single multi-use corridor could be a good idea, concentrating or limiting environmental impacts to a smaller area, but concerns with this mandated process center around the unrealistic timeline, the enormous scope of the analysis needed to complete the task, and the lack of information on proposed corridors., Notable, as well, is the glaring lack of any commitment from the agencies involved to use this process as a way to ensure careful placement and use of energy corridors as opposed to using it to avoid future consideration of on-the-ground environmental damage.
With ever increasing attacks on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which threaten to limit the public’s ability to comment on Federal actions, –and with the Bush Administration’s aggressive energy development agenda, concerns about environmental impacts due to the development of energy corridors seem more than warranted.
[Contact: Nada Culver, TWS, 303-650-5818, ext. 117]
Hundreds of Ground Water Contamination Cases Documented by New Mexico Oil Conservation Division
State oil-and-gas watchdogs have documented hundreds of cases of groundwater contaminated by inadequate waste disposal methods. In a recent report, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (OCD) notes that almost 400 unlined or improperly protected drilling waste dumps, or pits, have been identified as sources of ground water contamination in New Mexico. Impacts include the death of wildlife and threats to the purity of New Mexico’s drinking water.
"New Mexico's single-greatest source of wealth can also threaten our water quality and the health of our citizens," wrote Mark Fesmire, OCD director, in an Albuquerque Journal op-ed last month. The OCD’s mission is to protect, conserve, and manage responsible oil and gas development in New Mexico, noted
In response to the findings, Dan Girand, lobbyist for New Mexico-based Mack Energy, claimed "pollution could be a natural phenomenon and not the fault of the industry."
"Despite what the oil and gas industry says," countered Fesmire, "this pollution isn’t just theoretical."
According to Fesmire, industry could and should do a better job of protecting against ground water contamination, especially at a time when it is enjoying record profits.
The complete list of contaminated pits is available at: http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/emnrd/ocd/documents/rptGeneralizedGWImpact.pdf
[Contact: Nada Culver, TWS, 303-650-5818, ext. 117]
Industry-Funded Scientific Study Shows Drilling Displacing Mule Deer in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley –Population Declined by 46 Percent Since 2002
More evidence is gathering that oil and gas development in Wyoming’s sage-covered winter range is displacing the State’s legendary big game herds. The latest installment in a multi-year study of mule deer in the Upper Green River Valley, released Oct. 3, suggests a 46 percent decline of the herd wintering on the Mesa portion of the Pinedale Anticline, a location in which rapid development is ongoing. A decline in the over-winter fawn survival rate might also be associated with development, as well as, according to the industry-funded study by Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. (WEST).
Full Report available at:
http://www.west-inc.com/reports/PAPA_2005_report_med.pdf
[Contact: Peter Aengst, TWS, 406-586-1600, ext. 105]
Is Year-Round Oil and Gas Drilling On Its Way in Wyoming?
Representatives of the oil and gas industry have criticized "wildlife stipulations" – waiveable provisions of federal onshore oil and gas leases intended to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat – as an "impediment" to drilling on public lands in the Rocky Mountain West. Friends of the drilling industry in Congress have come out in support of proposed legislation to suspend stipulations in the name of energy security. An examination of the facts, however, demonstrates that such protections for wildlife are usually waived at the request of oil and gas operators, while drilling and gas production on public land are at all-time highs.
Nowhere else in the West have seasonal stipulations been more used and tested than in Wyoming, a state with both significant oil and gas reserves and huge big game and sage grouse populations. Yet, even in the wildlife-rich Upper Green River Valley industry wins one-time exemptions most every times it seeks them. The BLM is now weighing proposals to do away with winter drilling stipulations on Pinedale Anticline, where a world-class natural gas play underlies winter range that is crucial to the survival of Wyoming’s legendary mule deer and pronghorn herds.
[Contact: Peter Aengst, TWS, 406-586-1600, ext. 105]
BLM’s Premier Lands Increasingly Shortchanged
A recently released assessment, the State of the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), suggests that BLM is doing a poor job of managing its premier lands – not surprising, since a June GAO report declared that the BLM is so focused on issuing permits for oil and gas drilling that it is neglecting its responsibility to protect the land, air, water, fish, and wildlife affected by the drilling. BLM spokespeople have been surprisingly frank about the conflicting priorities they face for the management of even their National Monuments, painting a picture of an agency whose mission has become sorely unbalanced.
[Contact: Wendy Vanasselt, 202-429-2615]
Snapshot of the Bush Administration’s "Non-Environmental Protection Agenda"
The Bush administration has employed a number of tactics designed to undermine environmental protection, including: "suing and settling," in which the administration chooses to settle the suit on terms favorable to the plaintiff in response to legal challenges to federal actions; ignoring or misstating the findings of the scientific community; ignoring public view; and concealing or refusing access to public documents.
The Wilderness Society recently released an overview of the Bush Administration's Environmental Record, including impacts from/to: oil and gas drilling, National Forests, off-road vehicles on public lands, mining, wetlands, and other issues such as the establishment of blockades for the use of the Freedom of Information Act.
[Contact: Dave Alberswerth, TWS, 202-429-2695]
About the BLM Action Center
The BLM Action Center was established by The Wilderness Society in response to the relentless assault on America’s public lands. The Action Center operates out of Denver with a mission to protect America’s wild lands and open spaces by helping people participate in decisions that will shape the management of millions of acres of BLM lands throughout the Intermountain West. We also serve as a resource for journalists and a link to the vast expertise of The Wilderness Society’s national staff.
BLM Action Center Staff
- Communications Manager Melissa Kolwaite, a great resource, can direct you to our many experts and spokespeople. 303-650-5818, ext. 118
- Attorney Nada Culver, a great source for interpreting legal aspects of the BLM planning processes. 303-650-5818, ext. 117
- Coordinator Heath Nero is an expert in grassroots organization and governmental processes. 303-650-5818, ext. 116
Additional TWS Communications Contacts
>> Visit the BLM Action Center
