CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State Office opened a 30-day public comment period to receive input on four oil and gas parcels, totaling 159 acres, and will decide if the federal land will be included in an upcoming lease sale in September. The comment period ends June 21.
All four parcels are located in different regions across the state, and exact locations can be seen on maps here.
The BLM will review comments, potential deferrals and the related environmental analysis. Public comments will help determine if leasing these parcels conforms with all applicable laws, policies and land use plans.
The BLM must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLMPA) regulations when considering the environmental impacts of oil and gas development.
Recently, the BLM was ordered to reassess its environmental impact statements for 120,000 acres of federal land leased for oil and gas development after two separate lawsuits challenged the sales. On March 22, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper sided with conservation groups and ruled that the agency didn’t provide adequate environmental analysis, or fully explain the impacts future drilling could have on the climate, big game migration and sage grouse. The BLM also used outdated data on drilling when the leases were purchased back in 2022.
According to the BLM, the 159 acres set to be auctioned off this September is the smallest lease sale to date in Wyoming.
As authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, BLM will apply a 16.67% royalty rate for any new leases from the sale. More information about the Act is available on BLM’s online fact sheet.
Instructions on how to comment on the parcels are available on the BLM’s ePlanning website. Information on current and upcoming BLM lease sales is available through the National Fluid Lease Sale System.
