The Obama administration continues to put pressure on the oil and gas industry as it prepares to issue new rules covering oil wells on national wildlife refuges.
The new regulations will be made final on Monday, according to a pre-publication copy of a Federal Register notice by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The rules haven’t been updated in more than 50 years and would require that newer technologies be used to ensure the safe operation of the wells to safeguard wildlife and visitors, the service said.
The rules follow separate regulations issued last Friday governing the limited number of oil and natural gas wells in National Parks, the Interior Department’s National Park Service announced.
Observers say it is part of an 11th-hour attempt by the administration to place limits on oil and gas production on federal lands before President Obama leaves office in the next 70 days.
The wildlife agency explained in the notice that it is finalizing the refuge regulations “in order to improve our ability to protect refuge resources, visitors and the general public’s health and safety from potential impacts associated with non-federal oil and gas operations located within refuges.”
The exercise of non-federal oil and gas rights refers to drilling activities associated with any private, state or tribally-owned mineral interest where the surface rights are administered by the government as part of the national refuge system, the notice said.
The existing non-federal oil and gas regulations have remained unchanged for more than half a century, providing “only vague guidance to staff and operators,” the agency said. The new rule is a necessary update to “make the regulations more consistent with existing laws, policies and industry practices,” it continued.
“It is designed to provide regulatory clarity and guidance to oil and gas operators and refuge staff, provide a simple process for compliance, incorporate technological improvements in exploration and drilling technology, and ensure that non-federal oil and gas operations are conducted in a manner that avoids or minimizes impacts to refuge resources,” according to the agency.
The related National Park Service’s rules that were finalized on Friday marked the end of a six-year process to update oil and gas regulations from the 1970s.
A number of environmental groups lobbied for the changes, saying in a Nov. 7 statement that “the last thing a visitor wants to see are more oil rigs in national parks,” said Nicholas Lund, senior manager at the conservation group National Parks Conservation Association.
“While these new rules will not stop drilling in parks outright, thanks to them, not only will national parks will be better protected, but producers will also now be held liable for the impact these operations have on our parks,” Lund said.
