Please submit a comment in your own words, asking that the minimum rate per acre for oil and gas leasing be MUCH higher than $2 an acre, and ask the BLM to remove caps established by current regulations on civil penalties that may be assessed under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.
Most importantly, be sure to demand that the BLM NOT approve any more land for oil & gas development/leasing on Wild Horse & Burro Herd Management Areas (HMAs) (since there supposedly isn’t enough water and forage for wild horses and burros on their federally protected HMAs). – Debbie
(photo: BLM)
BLM Extends Public Comment Period to June 19, 2015 on Oil and Gas Royalty Rulemaking
SOURCE: goldrushcam.com
May 29, 2015- WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today that it is extending the public comment period on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to seek public comment on potential updates to BLM rules governing oil and gas royalty rates, rental payments, lease sale minimum bids, civil penalty caps and financial assurances.
Notice of the two-week extension, which extends the comment period deadline to June 19, 2015, will be published in the Federal Register on June 3, 2015.
Modernizing the BLM’s royalty rate structures can provide greater flexibility, especially given the dramatic growth of oil development on public and tribal lands, where production has increased in each of the past six years, and combined production was up 81 percent in 2014 versus 2008. Potential changes to BLM’s regulations would also respond to concerns expressed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Interior’s Office of Inspector General, and others that the BLM’s existing rules lack flexibility and could be causing the United States to forgo significant revenue to the detriment of taxpayers.
The GAO has repeatedly concluded that the BLM’s regulations do not provide a reasonable assurance that the public is getting appropriate fair share of the revenue from these resources. The BLM’s current rules lack the flexibility to offer new competitive leases at higher royalty rates.
The ANPR also addresses the value of these resources by inviting comment on how the BLM might update its rules regarding the minimum acceptable bid that must be paid by parties seeking a lease at auction, and the annual rental payments that are due after a lease is obtained. The current minimum acceptable auction bid is $2 per acre, which is well below the rate at which most parcels sell, suggesting that the rate could be higher. After obtaining a lease, a lessee is currently required to make annual rental payments until the lease starts producing oil or gas. These rental rates currently are $1.50 per acre for the first five years and $2 for years five through 10. The ANPR invites comment on how rental payments might be better structured to incentivize diligent development of leased areas.
The BLM encourages the public to be actively engaged in this process by submitting comments on the revised proposed rule before June 19 in one of the following ways:
Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Mail Stop 2134 LM, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC, 20240, Attention: 1004-AE41.
Personal or messenger delivery: Bureau of Land Management, 20 M. St. SE, Room 2134 LM, Attention: Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20003.
Online at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at this Website.
To read the original advance notice of public rulemaking go to: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-04-21/pdf/2015-09033.pdf
Categories: Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
The BLM would cordially invite Fleecing Of America to take place on All public lands. The cheaper the lease….the more the fleece and the More Aggressive the fleecers become about KEEPING public lands. The oil industry and welfare ranchers should be funding the wildlife and horses just by being on their lands. It only would have made sense that funds would have been beneficial from companies and ranchers to maintain and care for wildlife. Weve been fleeced by false allegations of roundups needed for population control and are paying for fancy flying that often results in injured and deceased wild horses. We are been fleeced by the rates the BLM charges for land use. The BLM allows all types of insanity and this IS insanity. Cattle ranchers and oil are two of the highest paid industries and therefore should anti up lease monies in a realistic amount. There are also requirements to preserve and conserve lands for public and horses and cattle ridden land with oil rigs everywhere…an occassional dead turtle and tumbleweeds with some random water tanks….hell all the BLM needs now is an old broke down rusty pickup truck and the public lands will finally look like the desolate place the welfare ranchers screamed they wanted.
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Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
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I have three points:
1. The best outcome would be that the BLM commit itself to sustainability and protection of our wild horse and and burro populations, finding means to accommodate some cattle grazing without eliminating the wild herds, and curtailing any oil and gas explorations.
2. I would prefer there be no oil or gas exploration on public lands, at any price.
3. Absent either of those, if you are going to let those corporations have access to our resources (rather than, say, commit to renewable energy sources), the price must be MUCH higher than the $2/acre that I believe is currently the leasing price. Moreover, any damage to the lands MUST be fully paid for by the entities that cause the damage.
This is MY land — OUR land — and I expect you to protect it and the creatures who live on it for the future of our children and our country!
Thank you for your attention.
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See for yourself.
One recent example:
Click to access 20140909_Competivtive_OG_Lease_Sale_Results.pdf
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Obama opens thousands of acres of public land to coal leases
https://www.vox.com/2015/5/29/8687659/public-land-coal-leases
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24 new leases permitted on powder river basin
http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2015/05/30/twenty-four-new-leases-permitted-in-powder-river-basin-carbon-bomb
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This might help us to understand:
“Conservation group: Oil firms can lease federal land for less than the price of a Big Mac” http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/feb/16/center-western-priorities/conservation-group-oil-firms-can-lease-federal-lan/
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Is this the horses land they are going to get a whole $2.00 an acre? What right do they have to sell the rights of the horse land? Who gave them the right ? And for what reason?
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These companies make obscene profits, circumvent regulations and environmental laws. The word ‘racket’ springs to mind….
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“In managing the public lands the [Secretary of Interior] shall, by regulation or otherwise, take any action necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the lands.” 43 U.s.c. § 1732(b). BLM’s obligation to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation is not discretionary; it is MANDATORY.
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First of all, it’s NOT the BLM’S LAND. IT’S WE THE PEOPLE’S AND THE ANIMALS.
ESPECIALLY, THE HORSES. THE BLM IS A FOREIGN OWNED CORPORATION REGISTERED in Puertto Rico (1925). IT DOESN’T HAVE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY.
AGAIN, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CONTINUED TO GET “HOOD WINKED”.
WHEN DO WE RECLAIM OUR POWER???
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I have three points:
1. The best outcome would be that the BLM commit itself to sustainability and protection of our wild horse and and burro populations, finding means to accommodate some cattle grazing without eliminating the wild herds, and curtailing any oil and gas explorations.
2. I would prefer there be no oil or gas exploration on public lands, at any price.
3. Absent either of those, if you are going to let those corporations have access to our resources (rather than, say, commit to renewable energy sources), the price must be MUCH higher than the $2/acre that I believe is currently the leasing price. Moreover, any damage to the lands MUST be fully paid for by the entities that cause the damage.
This is MY land — OUR land — and I expect you to protect it and the creatures who live on it for the future of our children and our country!
Thank you for your attention.
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thanks for sharing with us. please be sure to send your comments to the BLM.
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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/06/01/3664633/blm-coal-lease-decision/
Obama is responsible according to this and of course his Sec. of Interior Jewell
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I plan to send in a comment to this. Lots of research this weekend, I see. I typically have enclosures and lots of footnotes in my comment letters. Thank you to everyone that has provided links to articles. It sure helps!
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