The Secretary of the Interior’s new order regarding oil and gas exploration, “Drilling and Production in the Secretary’s Potash Area,” was published in the Federal Register on December 4, 2012. IPANM and a number of independent producers submitted comments to the draft order this past summer. Although some of our comments were accepted and changes made to the wording of the Order, the policy statement still remains the same: “It is the policy of the Department of the Interior to deny approval of most applications for permits to drill oil and gas wells from surface locations within the Designated Potash Area.”
EA – Potash Order
11-16-12 Potash Comment Responses
The Secretary’s response to our comments regarding this policy statement is: the revised Order extends the Drilling Island Concept to areas of Inferred, Indicated, or Unknown potash resources and allows for Development Areas to be proposed anywhere in the Designated Potash Area, including those areas known to have commercial deposits of potash. Another response states: “The BLM does not want the Order to imply that only the areas in which potash is already known to exist in sufficient thickness and quality to be mineable under existing technology and economics are subject to careful management.” In response to comments relating to a failure to follow NEPA by including appropriate environmental and economic analysis, the BLM prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) and issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) concluding the new Order might allow for increased oil and gas drilling.
Only time will tell if the new Order will result in increased drilling. I remain concerned that the policy statement to deny drilling in the entire area (with only three exceptions) will result in decreased drilling within the Potash Area. I have heard that some Independents are considering a judicial action challenging the implementation of this new Order, but nothing has been filed as of the date of this report (December 14, 2012). IPANM has posted the response to the comments and the EA on the website for those of you who are interested in reading the documents.
