Issues
IPAA submits comments on ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy. This week, IPAA filed joint comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on its Endangered Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy. The Compensatory Mitigation Policy seeks to provide a “broad umbrella policy under which more detailed Service policies or guidance documents covering specific activities involving mitigation may be issued,” as opposed to the case-by-case approach of the past.
As highlighted in the industry comments, IPAA agrees with the agency’s goal of improving the efficacy and efficiency of conservation programs, but is concerned the policy will not provide the clarity, predictability, or transparency that the Service anticipates. The comments also note that the policy is too complex, would deter participation, and would make mitigation more costly, burdensome, opaque, and unpredictable.
“By shoehorning into a single frame a conservation mechanism used in many distinct contexts, the Draft Policy is rendering a reasonably well-understood and nimble conservation tool unapproachable and indecipherably complex,” the organizations write. Additionally, “The Service does not have authority under the ESA or any other statute to require compensatory mitigation as outlined in the Draft Policy.” Read the joint comments from IPAA, the American Petroleum Institute, Western Energy Alliance, American Exploration & Production Council, and the International Association of Geophysical Contractors on IPAA’s ESA Watch site HERE.
Researchers claim Wyoming sage-grouse decline due to increased energy development. After examining the effects of oil and natural gas drilling on greater sage-grouse populations in Wyoming, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado State University released initial estimates this week that populations in the state declined 2.5 percent annually between 1984 and 2008. The report also estimates the grouse population dropped 14 percent annually in areas with at least 10 oil and gas wells per square mile. While populations were stable when no wells were present near a mating lek, the report notes declines were not statistically significant until well density reached 10.4 wells per square mile.
Members of industry highlight that the researchers did not factor in or assess the effectiveness of federal and state land use policy changes that were meant to concentrate drilling in some areas and avoid impacting more sensitive sage-grouse habitat. Notably, the study evaluates sage-grouse population trends from 1984 to 2008, and therefore excludes management changes from the Wyoming Core Area Policy.
According to Camerol Aldridge, an associate professor the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University who cooperated with the USGS on the study, the analysis provides new information to managers who are working on simultaneously implementing conservation measures and meeting energy needs. The Department of the Interior is currently reviewing the new study.
Potential bumble bee listing could increase drilling liabilities. As highlighted by an article in The Surge this week, a decision to list the rusty patched bumble bee under the Endangered Species Act could have significant consequences for drilling and mid-stream activities in the Appalachian Shale Basin area.
Even though pesticides are believed to be responsible for the bee’s population decline, a federal listing would increase regulatory liability and the difficulty of obtaining permits for energy project developers building well pads in the habitat region. In its comments on the proposal to list the rusty patched bumble bee, IPAA urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to “consider Safe Harbor protections for oil and gas operators who voluntarily modify their native seed mixes for re-vegetating project sites or modify their herbicide or pesticide practices for the benefit of the RPBB.”
Earlier this month, the FWS added seven species of yellow-faced bees in Hawaii to the endangered species list, though experts were quick to caution that the overall bee population is “doing just fine.” “Honey bees are not about to go extinct,” says Kim Kaplan, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “For now, the placement of seven bee species into the Endangered Species List might be less of a sign that America’s bees are in dire straits and more of an indicator that our other 3,993 bee species are probably doing just fine,” reported the Washington Post.
In the News
Clinton weighs in on public lands. Politico Morning Energy. Hillary Clinton says she will work to “ensure that we are protecting areas where
Conservation groups sue federal agencies over fracking in Los Padres. Santa Maria Sun. Three environmental conservation groups are bringing a lawsuit against federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding oil drilling in Los Padres National Forest. The groups—comprising Los Padres ForestWatch, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Defenders of Wildlife—filed a notice of intent to sue on Oct. 11, calling for supplemental environmental review of oil drilling plans for Los Padres. The groups claim that the Endangered Species Act approvals on a 2005 Forest Service plan permitting expanded oil and gas development throughout Los Padres are “outdated” in light of recent research on fracking and climate change.
Montana oil and gas gears up for legislative battles. Williston Herald. Amid that coming challenge, at both state and federal levels, the oil and gas industry is also facing what Montana Petroleum Association’s Executive Director Alan Olson says is an “alphabet soup” of new regulations from both federal and state entities. His organization is among those crafting position statements for 2017 responding to proposed federal rules for venting and flaring, as well as new standards for water discharge permits, and, at the state level, sage grouse preservation and proposed expansion of notice requirements ahead of drilling. Among top issues will be preservation of the state’s voluntary sage grouse conservation efforts and a state call-before-you-dig program.
Attorney: Feds’ broad ban on ‘take’ of species endangers conservation. The Oklahoman (Op-Ed). The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once described the Endangered Species Act as imposing “unfairness to the point of financial ruin — not just upon the rich, but upon the simplest farmer who finds his land conscripted to national zoological use.” His comment resonates with far too many landowners in Oklahoma and across the country. The target of his criticism was the statute’s “take” prohibition, which forbids essentially any activity that affects a single member of a protected species or its habitat, even if unintentional. This broad prohibition includes a wide range of ordinary land uses. Despite its broad reach, the harsh penalties include costly lawsuits, substantial fines, and even imprisonment.
Endangered Species Act draws new attention in the West. Natural Gas Intelligence. Environmentalists in California and livestock ranchers throughout the West issued new documents this month on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and developments on the appropriate role in protecting species such as the greater sage grouse. Last Tuesday, the Washington, DC-based Public Lands Council, which represents grazing ranchers, released a report supporting its contention that livestock grazing is not in conflict with stepped up public-private plans to protect habitat throughout the West for the ground-dwelling bird.
Precise mapping may help sage-grouse plan. Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Consultants are making slow but steady progress working with state wildlife officials on new greater sage-grouse maps that could have a significant bearing on the federal government’s efforts to protect the bird in northwest Colorado. Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado won a state Department of Local Affairs grant of about $380,000 to have the mapping conducted. It’s an effort to ensure that the Bureau of Land Management is using the most accurate maps possible for determining habitat that should be protected under new management plans for the greater sage-grouse in the region.
Indiana wind turbines slow down to protect bats during migration. Associated Press. Wind energy companies in Indiana are attempting to mitigate the deaths of bats during migration season by slowing or stopping their turbines at night. Wildcat Wind Farm, which operates 125 turbines in Madison and Tipton counties, and Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, which operates 355 turbines in Benton County, have worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the plans, the Herald Bulletin of Anderson reported. In return, the companies could be eligible for an Incidental Take Permit, which allows a company to unintentionally kill or injure a small number of endangered animals while still allowing the companies to operate. The plan for the Incidental Take Permits is intended to help reduce the death of bats. Wind farm owners could be held responsible and charged with harming an endangered species without the permit.
