Rule would allow development in roadless US forest land
Washington (Platts)--5May2005
The US Dept of Agriculture Thursday issued a final rule that could open roadless areas within national forests to development, including energy production. The Independent Petroleum Assn of America estimates the roadless lands hold an estimated 11 Tcf of natural gas. The 58.5-mil acres, primarily in Alaska and the western US, were put off limits to development under regulations issued in the final days of the Clinton administration that banned road construction. That rule was struck down by a federal court in 2003. The new rule allows governors to petition the department to develop regulations to manage roadless areas that meet specific needs within each state. If the petition is accepted, the Forest Service will work with the state to develop a state-specific rule. A top Agriculture Dept official was noncommittal Thursday on whether the overhaul of the roadless areas would lead to increased energy production. "Are there untapped or unexplored energy resources that would have been covered by the 2001 rule that wouldn't be if a state elected to recommend that approach to us?" Mark Rey, under secretary for natural resources and the environment at USDA, said on a conference call. "I think the answer to that is: We don't know yet. Until we sit down with the states and talk about what they think the reasonable balance on those kinds of issues are, it's impossible to speculate." New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson, a Democrat, blasted the new rule in a conference call sponsored by environmentalists, saying he would lobby governors in the surrounding western states that contain most of the nation's roadless acreage to retain the existing rule. One source with an environmental group added that "it's almost certain" conservationists would sue to block implementation of the rule. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (Republican-New Mexico) said the rule provides a way to deal with the roadless issue that empowers states. This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com
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