On January 31, 2018, the Bureau of Land Management released Instruction Memorandum (IM) 2018-034, Updating Oil and Gas Leasing Reform – Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel Reviews. This IM states that it is “policy of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to simplify and streamline the leasing process to alleviate unnecessary impediments and burdens, to expedite the offering of lands for lease, and to ensure quarterly oil and gas lease sales are consistently held…” This document outlines drastic changes to oil and gas leasing policies that will make it easier for the industry to open our public lands to oil and gas development.
In brief, IM 2018-034:
- Eliminates the requirement for Master Leasing Plans
- Makes NEPA optional for Lease Sales
- Makes public participation in the lease sale process optional at the discretion of BLM Staff
- Deletes language that declared “there was no presumed preference for oil and gas” over other uses on public lands
- Reduces timelines associated with lease sales, including reducing the former 30-day protest period to just 10 days.
- Requires the BLM to use existing Resource Management Plans (RMPs), regardless of any pending updates to RMPs and how out-of-date they may be.
Representatives from the Conservation Center and North Fork Valley will address these changes with senior BLM Leadership during our upcoming North Fork Delegation trip to Washington DC in March.