Las Vegas, Nev. — U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and 19 Congressional colleagues in urging President Biden to finalize the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Rule by the end of the month.
“[T]he current oil and gas leasing program shortchanges the American public, locks up thousands of acres of land that could be put to other uses, invites speculation, and often leaves taxpayers on the hook to pay the cost of reclaiming orphaned wells and restoring surrounding lands and waters,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge your Administration to finalize pending regulations to modernize the Federal oil and gas leasing system by the end of April.”
“BLM’s proposed rule includes important reforms that will save taxpayers money, help ensure lands are used for their highest value, and better protect communities and the environment,” continued the lawmakers. “We applaud BLM for moving forward with long overdue reforms to the onshore oil and gas leasing program, and urge your Administration to move quickly to finalize the agency’s proposed rule.”
Oil and gas bonding rates – intended to ensure industry operations are cleaned up after production ends — have not been updated since they were set more than sixty years ago. BLM’s proposed rule modernizes bonding rates to ensure that oil and gas companies, rather than taxpayers, pay the costs of cleaning up oil and gas wells. It also implements key reforms included in the Inflation Reduction Act, such as updating BLM’s administration of public lands and allowing lands with low or no potential for development to be reprioritized for wildlife habitat preservation, outdoor recreation, grazing, and other uses —which Senator Cortez Masto pushed BLM to include. Cortez Masto has advocated to ensure these changes are codified into law and cannot be undone by a future administration in her End Speculative Oil and Gas Leasing Act.
The text of the letter is available HERE.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a champion for Nevada’s great outdoor spaces and public lands. She’s introduced legislation to ban oil and gas development in Nevada’s beautiful and pristine Ruby Mountains. She passed critical legislation to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which protects public lands in Nevada and across the U.S. Cortez Masto has also introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, and she delivered critical funding to protect Lake Tahoe in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
###