“What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself.” – Molly Beattie
Our government is entrusted with our nation’s public lands, one of the greatest American treasures. These lands must be managed responsibly, to allow access while protecting the wildlife and ecosystem services that produce the clean air and clean water we all depend on.
We have been through four long years of unbridled access to public lands by the oil and gas industries. The Trump Administration was able to take advantage of outdated federal oil and gas leasing regulations to lease millions of acres. Due to these outdated regulations, these public lands were leased at the expense of taxpayers, local businesses and the environment. I applaud President Biden’s decision to pause new leasing on our public lands. It is a critical first step to ensure that these lands are managed in a way that balances all of these values.
I am hopeful that this time-out will be followed by the leasing reform we need the federal level to protect our public lands.
In Colorado, our iconic public lands and national parks draw millions of visitors annually. Outdoor recreation is the backbone of our economy, providing 229,000 jobs in our communities and generating $28 billion in annual consumer spending. While many states have watched their economies plummet during this pandemic, Colorado is fortunate to have this sustainable revenue source.
During the pandemic summer of 2020, public lands around the U.S. saw record numbers of visitors. These areas provide a much needed breath of fresh air after “stay at home” orders. Yet despite the important role these special places play in the lives of so many, our federal government has been prioritizing the oil and gas industry while sacrificing wildlife, local economies dependent on outdoor recreation, and clean air and clean water. Reform is needed to ensure that oil and gas development is conducted in a way that protects these equally valuable resources today and tomorrow.
In San Miguel County, like counties across the country, our unexpected pandemic response expenses are funded by local taxpayers, state and federal funds. In the meantime, one of our gas producers continues to miss their tax payment deadlines, which impacts our schools and libraries as well as the county. It is highly likely that they will soon declare bankruptcy or sell to another developer. And then we must start the collection process over again while our schools, libraries and fire districts wait for the much needed revenue.
Under current federal regulations, oil and gas companies are able to lease and develop public lands without providing adequate bonds to cover the costs of restoring lands when drilling finishes. Bankrupt companies are let off the hook for leaving behind “orphaned” wells that leak methane into the air we breathe and cost taxpayers millions of dollars to clean up.
In Colorado, we have over 422 abandoned wells, with an average clean-up cost of around $82,500 each. Local communities are facing a very real crisis as many of these companies are beginning to walk away from non-productive wells and adequate bonding is not in place to deal with the impacts.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the Trump Administration was in hyper-lease mode, and yet not even half of the BLM lands leased are under production for oil and gas. The administration encouraged noncompetitive leasing, a process that allows companies to lease millions of acres across the West outside of the competitive bidding process for as low as $1.50 per acre. This does not come close to covering the administrative costs to the taxpayers of the leasing program and millions of acres are closed to other uses which could bring revenues to local communities. Meanwhile the companies use the acreage to pad their balance sheets.
It is time for change. Several bills were introduced during the last Congress to initiate much needed reasonable reform. Colorado’s Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet introduced a pair of bills that would protect taxpayers by strengthening bonding requirements to ensure oil and gas companies – not taxpayers – pay for cleaning up orphaned wells and mandate that the BLM conduct more thorough outreach to property owners and local governments for oil and gas lease sales.
Former New Mexico Democratic Sen. Tom Udall and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced a bipartisan bill to update royalty rates, Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced a bill to end noncompetitive leasing, and Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto introduced legislation to prohibit leasing lands with little drilling potential.
The intent behind all of these bills is to allow for responsible oil and gas production while protecting the American people and our public lands. I hope that Sen. Bennet, Sen. Hickenlooper and their colleagues will reintroduce these common-sense reforms and work with the Biden Administration to overhaul the federal leasing system.
For too long oil and gas drilling has been prioritized by the BLM. We need our public land managers to prioritize wildlife, ecosystem services and the outdoor recreation access that benefit Colorado’s economy. Communities in southwestern Colorado and throughout the West need a new leasing system to ensure responsible oil and gas development while protecting the natural resources intrinsic to our public lands. Sena. Bennet and his colleagues have identified a path forward, and it is a win-win for all.
Hilary Cooper is a San Miguel County Commissioner.
