Bureau of Land Management Press Release
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah has posted the list of parcels proposed for auction at the May 20, 2014 oil and gas lease sale in Salt Lake City. The proposed list contains 102,727 acres comprised of 96 parcels in the Richfield, Moab and Monticello Field Offices.
The proposed list includes 67,556 acres comprised of 54 parcels in the Richfield Field Office; 1,400 acres comprised of two parcels in the Moab Field Office; and 33,771 acres comprised of 40 parcels in the Monticello Field Office. All of the lands proposed for sale are identified as available to oil and gas leasing in the current resource management plans for the Richfield, Moab and Monticello Field Offices.
“The proposed parcel list for the May sale reflects BLM-Utah’s continued commitment to support responsible oil and gas development on public lands by conducting thorough environmental analysis and providing opportunities for public participation,” said BLM-Utah State Director Juan Palma.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, the State of Utah received more than $164 million from royalties, rentals and bonus bid payments for federal minerals, including oil and gas. The BLM-Utah State Office currently administers approximately 3.7 million acres of public mineral estate that is leased for oil and gas development. The extraction of these resources and their introduction into the market generated more than $6.5 billion in direct economic benefits and more than $9.7 billion in total economic impacts in FY2012.
Posting of the proposed parcel list initiates a 30-day public protest period. All protests must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., March 17, 2014. Protests should be as specific as possible. Those which contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response but may be considered in the BLM decision making process.
Written protests may be mailed or faxed to the BLM-Utah State Office at:
Mail
Bureau of Land Management
Attn: Justin Abernathy
440 West 200 South, Suite 500
Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Fax
Attn: Justin Abernathy
(801)539-4237
For more information on how to file a timely protest, please refer to the May 2014 Notice of Competitive Lease Sale, which can be viewed online at:
https://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/energy/oil_and_gas/oil_and_gas_lease.html
Hard copies of the sale notice may also be obtained in person in the BLM-Utah State Office Public Room at the physical address listed above.
Before including an address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in any comments, be aware that the entire comment—including personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. Requests to withhold personal identifying information from public review can be submitted, but the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
The competitive oral auction will take place at the BLM-Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. The sale room opens at 7:45 a.m. to allow potential bidders to register and obtain a bidder number. The competitive oral auction will begin at 9 a.m.
For additional information about oil and gas leasing in Utah, please contact Megan Crandall at (801) 539-4020. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave a message or question with the above individual. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Replies are sent during normal business hours.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.