The Bush administration’s rush to develop oil and gas across the West gives short shrift to the environment and causes anguish among ranchers and farmers whose properties are being overrun by drill rigs. Rather than resolve legitimate complaints, federal officials are trying to sidestep reasonable efforts to restore some balance.
One key problem stems from what’s called split estate: The surface of the land often is owned by one individual but the underlying mineral rights are owned by another private entity or the federal government. As energy development has skyrocketed, so have complaints from landowners.
Wyoming’s legislature this year enacted modest protections for surface owners. The new law calls for landowners to be properly notified when their land is slated for oil or gas drilling and to be reasonably compensated for any loss of their land’s value. Last week, Wyoming’s oil and gas commission finalized rules to implement the law.
Instead of supporting Wyoming’s efforts, the feds took the side of the drillers. In a recent letter to Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, U.S. Bureau of Land Management director Kathleen Clarke said the state couldn’t impose its new requirements on federal mineral leases. Since Uncle Sam controls millions of acres of mineral rights in Wyoming, Clarke’s decree would make it nearly impossible for the state to enforce the law.
Freudenthal, a conservative Democrat, insists that the law won’t impose an undue burden on the energy industry. He’s right – Wyoming isn’t telling energy companies to do anything they shouldn’t be doing anyway. Colorado’s legislature, which failed to pass a split-estate protection measure last session, should consider a similar approach.
Ironically, Wyoming’s law was modeled after the BLM’s existing regulations. The problem is, the BLM is so busy processing the energy industry’s paperwork it has little time for anything else. Indeed, if the BLM had been doing its job, the Wyoming law might not have been needed.
A report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative unit, says the BLM spends so much time approving drilling permits on public lands that it often fails to adequately protect the environment, reported The Associated Press, which got an advance copy of GAO’s findings.
If the BLM can’t keep tabs on what’s happening on public lands, it certainly can’t monitor split-estate problems on private property. That means the job falls to the states. Wyoming should stick to its guns.
