Across the West, an artifact of the 19th century is igniting disputes between landowners and oil and gas companies. As Uncle Sam sold land to settlers, it often retained the mineral rights. Today, there are many thousands of square miles between the Great Plains and West Coast where the surface of the land is owned by ranchers or other private individuals but the mineral rights belong to the federal government or have been leased to oil and gas companies. Conflicts over how the minerals get developed have become more frequent with the Bush administration’s full-court press on energy development.
In Colorado, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management tried to auction natural gas leases without telling surface owners that rights to minerals under their properties were up for grabs. In Wyoming, ranchers complain that coal-bed methane development has dumped saltwater in previously fresh streams and lakes, leaving the water unfit for humans or livestock.
State governments have responded unevenly. Wyoming this year adopted stronger surface owner protections but Colorado rejected a similar effort. Since federal agencies are responsible for the leases, a federal solution seems logical.
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., has introduced legislation to better protect surface owners and water quality during oil and gas drilling. House Resolution 2064, also known as the Western Waters and Farm Lands Protection Act, has been endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation. It would establish requirements for proper disposal of water extracted from oil and gas development and require that the oil companies comply with the federal Clean Water Act. It also would amend the Mineral Leasing Act by requiring mineral developers to have plans for restoring the disturbed lands to their previous, usable condition (a process called reclamation) and post reclamation bonds so the work will be done even if the mineral companies later go out of business.
H.R. 2064 provides for greater involvement of surface owners in the development of oil and gas under their properties. It would require the U.S. Department of Interior to give surface owners advance notice of lease sales that would affect their lands, and to notify them of subsequent events related to proposed or ongoing energy development. It further calls for oil and gas companies to work with landowners to reach agreement about ways to avoid interfering with the landowners’ use of the properties.
The provisions reflect common sense and courtesy but are needed because such qualities are in short supply in the West’s energy-rich regions. Congress should give farmers and ranchers equal footing with oil and gas companies by passing H.R. 2064.
