BLM’s decision could affect oil industry

By Bill Vander Weele

Sidney Herald
Published on Friday, March 19, 2010 5:59 PM MDT

Dave Galt, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association, feels a recent decision by the Bureau of Land Management could greatly affect the future oil industry in Montana.

Galt explains the BLM was facing a lawsuit from three organizations – the Montana Environmental Information Center, Wild Earth Guardians and Earthworks – regarding oil and gas lease sales. The suit said the oil and gas development and global warming impacts the environment, and that BLM failed to address the impacts.

“The BLM decided, after they thought about it, that they wanted to settle the case,” Galt said. “They didn’t want to go to court.”

That decision suspends 61 oil and gas leases in Montana that were granted in 2008 pending a new environmental analysis. Galt said the parcels cover a total of 37,000 acres throughout the state including some acres in Richland and Roosevelt counties. Other counties affected include Carbon, Sweet Grass, Stillwater, Musselshell, Phillips, Custer, Sheridan, Fallon, Broadwater, Gallatin, Fergus, Garfield, Golden Valley and Beaverhead.

“The oil and gas industry is one of the few business sectors that is actually adding jobs in Montana and has been throughout this recession,” Galt said. The 61 oil and gas leases represent not only future jobs but also economic opportunities for the nearby communities that would benefit from energy development activities.

There’s no time schedule when the new environmental analysis will take place.

“I’m real concerned with this issue,” Galt said. “If we have to deal with climate changes, what will this lead us to?”

Galt is afraid of the affects on the industry if federal legislators and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) get more involved.

“This is just their foot in the door. If the federal government feels this is an effective measure, it has to be watched,” Galt said.

In November 2009, Galt testified in an Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee hearing in Helena concerning greenhouse gases.

Galt’s comments included, “EPA has issued proposed rules stating that CO2 is a threat to public health. This endangerment finding has yet to be approved by the EPA. If EPA makes such a finding, there will be significant impacts to every business in America. Treating CO2 as a public health threat not only requires EPA to heavily regulate it under the Clean Air Act; but it also opens the door to citizen lawsuits against any businesses that emit CO2. There are already lawsuits in the process. Recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a local court that refused to hear a case regarding alleged global impacts of CO2 from local utilities. This action is being watched across the country and will be a serious impact to any business with CO2 emissions.”

Galt also told legislators, “EPA continues to advance regulations that will have a negative impact on our operations. They offer a huge disincentive to drilling new wells. If the proposed federal legislation and regulations are enacted, the consequences for Montana and our industry will be of an unprecedented magnitude.”

Galt doesn’t feel more restrictions from the government are what Montanans need or want.

“I would guess that if you were to ask a resident of Jordan or Bainville if he or she feels it is more important to have jobs and school funding or to reduce the greenhouse gases in their counties, they would first of all not be aware of any air quality problems in areas that are known for their wide open spaces,” Galt said. “Secondly, they would probably put the interests of working people and school children ahead of the energy-killing agenda of the Wild Earth Guardians. Just a guess.”

editor@sidneyherald.com

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Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of the Sidney Herald.

Laughing stock wrote on Mar 29, 2010 10:34 PM:

" I would love to be a fly on the wall in some of the petroleum/oil meetings in North Dakota. I bet they are busting a gut laughing at Montana's oil/gas (green) issues. North Dakota is reaping the benefits and Montana is squashing theirs. "

it figures wrote on Mar 24, 2010 2:46 PM:

" I have to wonder where the very small brain is at when these people get started. Must be even smaller than I thought.
It is not just the oil industry that effects the CO2 in the atmosphere. Do these people realize that with thier idiotic ideas, they too, will suffer? It will close down the electrical factories, manufacturing factories as well as food processing factories. I sure hope these idiots know how to survive without any of the technologies they are used to. We in Montana can grow our own food, hunt our own meat and collect our eggs and milk. We support each other when it is needed. I wonder if the big city boys could do the same thing and if they would have the support of thier own nieghbors like we would.
They are jealous of the income from oil that we have gotten so it must be stopped. In thier enthusium they will put laws in place that will cause them to suffer more than we will and they will have no one to blame but themselves.
The EPA will have no choice but to close down all factories, mills, farming that uses tractors and trucks, the railroad, basically all industry.
We can't have windmills or solar grids because they are unattractive in the environment, but they want the CO2 to stop. With no other fixes in the air, all people will suffer. Maybe that is thier plan. Lower population, more control. "

wrote on Mar 24, 2010 8:11 AM:

" You know, the same arguements were made to keep the US out of WWII.
Cost too high
Not our problem
Cant prove to every person that there is a problem, beyond any doubt

Using this logic, we need to close the prisons.they are expensive, most of the prisoners only victimized 1 or 2 people, and there is always some level of doubt. "

Janice wrote on Mar 23, 2010 10:06 PM:

" .... you couldn't have put that any better!! In this sue happy world maybe we should sue them back for lack of income. It is not that we don't want good for the environment too. Most of the people in this area are farmers that depend on the ground to sustain their families. Who then would have more to benefit from saving the land? A tree hugger that has the money to waste, or a farmer that is struggling to providing food for the world.
Even their high priced hybrid vehicles use petroleum products in the manufactoring. They are hyprocritical. If it goes along with something they want they suddenly forget how plastic, tires, etc are made. Maybe they need to do a little checking before they begin preaching to everyone else. "

... wrote on Mar 20, 2010 10:44 AM:

" Hope the "Wild Earth Guardians" didn't use any electricity, paper, or gasoline in the course of filing their lawsuit or I guess they're no better than anyone else. The oil industry has been a very big revenue generator for the state of Montana in the past 10 years. Highway 201 would probably be one of the highest profit roads in the state because of the oil activity. Instead of keeping money generated here to fix the infrastructure to support the industry that makes the money, it gets moved to California's sister state, western Montana. Now we have a 35 mile per hour posted speed limit on 40 miles of road that many people have to drive multiple times a day. Sure, they may get around to fixing it but as it looks now, it may or may not happen in 2011. Most global warming people want a change, but they really don't know what that change should be. They don't want to spend anymore to live then the rest of us but who will? This all costs huge amounts of money. The government is beyond broke. They can't subsidies all of this, and industry can't afford to stop making a profit. That leaves consumers to absorb 100% of the cost. Remember the next time you worry about my diesel pickup putting gray spots on your albino snow owl, and you can't afford to live, these were all your rules. "

Again wrote on Mar 20, 2010 8:56 AM:

" So much of this goes on, Like bettle kill and clear cutting dead trees. The ones out to save the world said no and it burned homes in Co look back at the info--they filed lawsute and the Gov back down.So much saved there, How much CO2 does a forest fire make and what about wild life. Comes to prove they dont think--just act in what they think is right at the cost of others "

How it is wrote on Mar 20, 2010 7:30 AM:

" This whole man made climate change thing is only a hoax. This is the dumbest thing. I suppose the next thing is that everyone should be arrested and put in jail because we might commit crimes in the future. Time to put another log on the fire so I can increase the size of my "carbon foot print". HA HA!! "

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