Hopeful shift on oil and gas development on public lands

News stories abounded about the October 7th report on a new review of 77 oil and gas leases in Utah. Why all the attention? The findings and recommendations give hope that the "drill baby drill" approach of recent years is on the way out. Maybe I’m just feeling overly hopeful on a sunny Friday, but the new report at least endorses the idea of meaningful analysis for energy development on our public lands.

As usual, the New York Times article on the new report offers a good summary of the problem and the report's findings. At its most basic:

An Interior Department review team then presented Secretary Ken Salazar with a recommendation that drilling be allowed to proceed on 17 of the 77 parcels. But it also said that the leases on eight parcels should be withdrawn and that 52 should be subjected to further study because of potential threats to wildlife and air and water quality.

Those outside of Utah should be interested in this announcement and the report because agency comments indicate a larger change in direction on leases. For example, today's Desert News article included this quote:

"It's a new day," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a Thursday teleconference. "We've come into this department with a reform agenda — it's a new beginning."

And went on to say:

Salazar stressed that the recommendations will be guiding principles that embrace land management with an eye to protecting water and wildlife and with the support of oil and gas development in the "right places in the right way."

For more information, read the full report from the Department of Interior. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and several other environmental organizations had challenged this group of leases. See their take on the report.