The IRA included important reforms to the federal onshore oil and gas program, but DOI must develop and issue regulations to implement the changes. 

Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Groups urge Interior to finish the job on leasing and bonding reforms
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Pronghorn graze near oil infrastructure in southwestern Wyoming, BLM Wyoming ([link removed])

On Wednesday a group of 27 organizations sent a letter ([link removed]) to the Department of the Interior (DOI) urging the agency to initiate a rulemaking to implement leasing reforms passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA included several important reforms to the federal onshore oil and gas program, but DOI must develop and issue regulations to implement the changes. The letter argues that DOI should not move forward with new leasing until it has completed this rulemaking.

Separately, a different set of organizations submitted to DOI and the Bureau of Land Management a petition for rulemaking ([link removed]) to modernize the onshore oil and gas program's requirements for financial assurance, also referred to as bonding ([link removed]) . The Inflation Reduction Act brought long overdue reforms to the majority of the federal oil and gas leasing program. But bonding was dropped at the last minute, after the Senate parliamentarian determined that it was not tied closely enough to the federal budget—a requirement for bills passed through the reconciliation process as the IRA was. A 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office ([link removed]) found that only between 1 and 16 percent of federal bonds are sufficient to cover the cleanup of their wells, depending on the cost estimates used. Failure
to update these rates leaves taxpayers holding the bag when oil and gas companies go bankrupt and can’t afford to clean up their operations.

Congress could increase bonding rates by passing standalone legislation or by attaching similar language to a larger legislative package, a potential priority during the lame duck session. If legislation during the lame duck is unsuccessful, the Interior Department can use its existing authority to raise bonding rates administratively through a rulemaking process. A formal rulemaking would be a long-term fix that brings bonding rates up to date, but the department would need to begin that process immediately if it hopes to finalize a rule by the end of President Biden’s first term.
Quick hits


** Groups push Interior to reform bonding on public lands
------------------------------------------------------------

E&E News ([link removed]) | County 17 ([link removed])


** New Mexico groups protest proposed lease sale
------------------------------------------------------------

Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** California's climate plan calls for no new gas-burning power plants
------------------------------------------------------------

Washington Post ([link removed])


** Thirty water suppliers pledge to target decorative grass to address Colorado River crisis
------------------------------------------------------------

Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** How a rare plant species could stymie a lithium mine
------------------------------------------------------------

Roll Call ([link removed])


** Researchers, farmers collaborate to figure out how agriculture and solar farms can coexist
------------------------------------------------------------

Canary Media ([link removed])


** What history can teach us about Great Salt Lake and Utah's water woes
------------------------------------------------------------

KSL ([link removed])


** Opinion: New Nevada monument is a chance to do right by tribes
------------------------------------------------------------

Las Vegas Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” The climate is changing before our eyes. We need to take action to reduce the worst impacts of a changing climate and there is only one way to do that—break forever our dependence on fossil fuels.”
—Liane Randolph, California Air Resources Board Chair, Washington Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @usinterior ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Did someone say road trip?

When heading south from Hanksville, Utah, highway travelers bisect the remote Henry Mountains — a place so remote it was the last mountain range in the contiguous United States to be mapped. The 11,000-foot forested peaks of the main mountain range rise to the west, while two distinctive summits, Mount Ellsworth and Mount Holmes, jut skyward from the rolling red sandstone mesas to the east.

Known as the “Little Rockies,” these peaks are designated as a National Natural Landmark for their geological significance. The peaks also provide habitat for desert bighorn sheep and numerous birds of prey.

Photo by Bob Wick / @mypubliclands ([link removed])

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2022 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])