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Economy
Salazar announces tougher rules on drilling
2010-01-07
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday announced policy changes he said will bring more scrutiny and greater public voice in how oil and gas leases are awarded on public lands.

Salazar said the changes should ensure stricter environmental standards in oil and gas leasing while bringing more clarity to the process to energy companies hoping to drill on public lands, mostly in Western states.

"We don't believe we ought to be drilling anywhere and everywhere," Salazar said at a news conference. "We believe we need a balanced approach and a thoughtful approach" that allows development of oil and gas leases on public lands while also protecting national parks, endangered species and municipal watersheds.

Salazar, a former Democratic senator from Colorado, criticized the Bush administration for what he called a "headlong rush" to lease public lands. Early last year, Salazar suspended 60 of 77 leases in Utah approved in that administration's waning days.

The changes announced Wednesday are intended to bring greater consistency and public engagement to onshore oil and gas leasing, Salazar said, with a goal of reducing legal challenges that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars and energy companies months or even years of delays.

About 1 percent of oil and gas leases on public lands were protested in 1998, he said -- a figure that jumped to about 40 percent in 2008. The main reason for the increase was that leases were offered in places where they should not have been or without enough agency scrutiny or public participation, Salazar said.

"In the prior administration the oil and gas industry was the king of the world. Whatever they wanted happened," Salazar said, adding that those days are over.

Democrats and environmental groups hailed the announcement, saying it marked a significant step toward a balanced, common-sense approach to energy development on public lands.
Posted by:Fred

#14  Drilling more widely now will not affect the near term price & availability of petro to the US, in any case.

Hey, any time you want lower oil prices, just start drilling three years prior.

The rest of y'all got a lot of years of Credit Default Swap profits out of decapitalizing all the physical industries. And if you didn't you should have invested that money more wisely. But there's nothing I can do about y'all's poor decisions. Y'all are going to have to suffer through this stuff until three years or so after you decide to stop hitting the crack pipe.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2010-01-07 23:09  

#13  Don't worry, this policy will be reversed in 2012 by President Beck.
Posted by: DMFD   2010-01-07 19:47  

#12  Quite correct Steve. Also interesting to note is the fact that off-shore US Territoral water leases are owned by the Federal Government, to which the oil companies pay their lease and production fees.
Posted by: Besoeker   2010-01-07 14:24  

#11  Yesterday we had an article about drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico in water nearly a mile deep, an impressive and expensive technical feat. One of the ironies of closing public land to drilling is that it keeps the little guy out of the game and limits oil production to the evil Big Oil companies.
Posted by: SteveS   2010-01-07 14:15  

#10  I'd place the ETA of $8/gal gas at about 7 days after Israel goes after Iran's nuclear program. Dreamer! In your proposed scenario I foresee either outright rationing &/or tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep US motor vehicles running. $80/barrel petro (where we are now) is a severe drag on a nearly crippled economy. Drilling more widely now will not affect the near term price & availability of petro to the US, in any case.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2010-01-07 14:00  

#9  Kenny should have made this announcement in Riverton, Wyoming. The folks there would be so-o-o-o 'supportive'. An unemployed roustabout (or two) would then likely 'help' him to his car (or whatever form of transportation he might use to leave town).

Instead, he used the relative safety of the Beltway.
Posted by: Mullah Richard   2010-01-07 13:15  

#8  policy changes he said will bring more scrutiny and greater public voice

Public voice or public violence??
Posted by: armyguy   2010-01-07 12:04  

#7  We will have this problem as long as folks like Salazar don't give a crap about the rest of the country as long as he gets his cut.
Posted by: gorb   2010-01-07 11:28  

#6  Salazar has always been a toadie to environmentalist groups. Never mind what it does to the common man or how it ruins his livelihood.
Posted by: DarthVader   2010-01-07 07:27  

#5  "In the prior administration the oil and gas industry was the king of the world. Whatever they wanted happened," Salazar said

Yeah, lookit all them wells off the Caliphornia coast, all over the continental shelf on the east coast, and spilling out of ANWR and all over the defrosting tundra. And I'm an idiot, Ken.

The Governor-elect (R) of Virginia reportedly said he wants to use off-shore drilling to shore up (sorry)the state's Commonwealth's devastated budget. Gitcher popcorn!
Posted by: Bobby   2010-01-07 06:27  

#4  I'd place the ETA of $8/gal gas at about 7 days after Israel goes after Iran's nuclear program.
Posted by: AzCat   2010-01-07 01:31  

#3  Enjoy your $8/gallon gas when it arrives.
Posted by: gorb   2010-01-07 01:25  

#2  Gas prices climbing again and total jerks like Salazar abetting it.
FOAD!
Posted by: 3dc   2010-01-07 00:27  

#1  "We don't believe we ought to be drilling anywhere and everywhere," Salazar said at a news conference.

Aren't the overwhelming majority of public lands where oil & gas are known to exist in significant quantities already off limits? Or so defended by litigious lefty groups that it's essentially impossible to drill there already?
Posted by: AzCat   2010-01-07 00:23  

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