** New legislation brings accountability to oil and gas leasing process
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Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Photo: BLM Wyoming ([link removed])

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet introduced legislation ([link removed]) this week to clean up abandoned or "orphaned" oil and gas wells ([link removed]) , to strengthen financial bonding requirements, and to expand opportunities for providing local input for lease sales on public lands.

The Oil and Gas Bonding Reform and Orphaned Well Remediation Act ([link removed]) establishes a $500 million fund for the cleanup, remediation, and restoration for an estimated 56,600 documented orphaned wells and as many as 746,000 undocumented sites in existence. The bill stipulates a financial assurance threshold that would address future remediation on public lands to ensure taxpayers aren't liable for those costs. The Government Accountability Office found that 84% of oil and gas bonds ([link removed]) for wells overseen by the BLM are too low to adequately cover well reclamation costs because most bonds are set at regulatory minimums that haven’t been adjusted since the 1950s and 1960s
to account for inflation.

The second bill, the Public Engagement Opportunity on Public Land Exploration Act ([link removed]) would provide transparency in bidding to restore local governments’ and taxpayers’ role ([link removed]) in public land management decisions. The bill would require federal agencies to provide direct notification of upcoming actions ([link removed]) to public land user groups, local governments, and surface owners for subsurface minerals under private lands. Lease sales
([link removed]) would require a minimum 30-day scoping period for public comment, 30-day public notice and comment period for draft environmental determinations, and a 45-day protest period.

Speaking in support of the tandem legislation, Pitkin County Commissioner Greg Poschman said ([link removed]) , “Abandoned oil and gas wells which are not properly reclaimed are a huge burden on the American taxpayer. The transfer of liability and expense from the gas producers to the taxpayers after the wells are played out must stop. Energy producers have a responsibility to pay their way and let the market reflect the true cost of oil and gas production.”
Quick hits


** The solution to the West's wildfire woes may require more "good fire"
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New York Times ([link removed]) | ProPublica ([link removed]) | The Narwhal ([link removed])


** New legislation brings accountability to oil and gas leasing process
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed]) | Houston Chronicle ([link removed]) | Colorado Politics ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Indigenous-led protest against border wall ends with physical altercations with park service, border patrol
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NPR ([link removed])


** Secret tapes record Pebble Mine executives bragging about their influence over state, federal leaders
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** NOAA nominee and heads of EPA, Energy Department question link between climate and natural disasters, despite scientific agreement
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The Hill (NOAA) ([link removed]) | The Hill (EPA) ([link removed]) | The Hill (Energy) ([link removed])


** Polling results show western voters overwhelmingly say "no" to William Perry Pendley
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Native American communities weigh risk of Covid-19 with wildfire risk
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California Healthline ([link removed])


** Opinion: Fire William Perry Pendley
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Telluride Daily Planet ([link removed])
Quote of the day
In Colorado, our economy—from ranching to recreation—depends on multiple shared uses of our public lands. This administration’s approach has too often undermined that multiple-use mission, cutting Colorado out of land management decisions and leaving local governments on the hook to clean up the mess.”
—U.S. Senator Michael Bennet ([link removed])
Picture this


** @USFWSMtnPrairie ([link removed])
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“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” - Oscar Wilde
Happy first day of #fall ([link removed]) from @USFWS ([link removed]) !
Photo: Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge by Rich Keen

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