Early Tribal Consultation and Agency Coordination for Fluid Mineral Leasing
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
COLORADO STATE OFFICE 2850 YOUNGFIELD STREET
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO 80215-7093
In Reply Refer To:
3100 (CO-922) P
March 14, 2017
EMS TRANSMISSION
Instruction Memorandum No. CO-2017-006
Expires: 09/30/2020
To: District and Field Managers
From: Deputy State Director, Energy, Lands and Minerals
Subject: Early Tribal Consultation and Agency Coordination for Fluid Mineral Leasing
Program Area: Oil and Gas Leasing; Geothermal Leasing, Social, Cultural and Natural Resources.
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) directs field offices to conduct tribal consultation and agency coordination at the local level early in the process of fluid mineral lease sale environmental reviews.
Policy/Action: In accordance with Leasing Reform (Washington Office IM-2010-117), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado (CO) outlined a fluid mineral leasing process to ensure orderly, effective, timely and environmentally responsible leasing of fluid mineral resources on federal lands in Colorado. This process includes coordination with tribes and stakeholders that may be affected by the BLM's leasing decisions based on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis. These stakeholders may include:
- Other federal agencies (e.g., US Forest Service, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Defense, etc.).
- Adjacent BLM states if lease nomination spans state boundaries.
- Tribal governments.
- State and local agencies/governments (e.g., county commissioners, state and regional offices)
- Local community stakeholders (e.g., managers of municipal watersheds and local parks).
- Split-estate owners where federal mineral estate under their surface estate has been nominated for leasing.
In order to achieve greater coordination and communication in managing shared landscapes, Field Managers are directed to initiate tribal consultation and local federal, state, and community government agency coordination early in the lease sale process and continue to communicate with those tribes and stakeholders throughout the lease parcel review. Early initiation of stakeholder coordination at the thirty-day public scoping period is critical to establish a good level of understanding by interested community stakeholders of the lease sale process and the environmental review process. Tribes and stakeholders will be invited to comment during the NEPA compliance process and will be kept informed of field office leasing and NEPA activities through email and updated BLM Colorado websites. The BLM Colorado Fluid Mineral Leasing Process will be updated to incorporate the new policy and guidelines.
Timeframe: This IM is effective upon receipt.
Budget Impact: None.
Background: In accordance with the BLM Leasing Reform Policy (Washington Office IM-2010-117), the Colorado State Office developed a fluid mineral leasing strategy to meet the policy outlined in the leasing reform IM. The strategy established a process to ensure orderly, effective, timely and environmentally responsible leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands in Colorado. The strategy did outline the process of stakeholder coordination at the parcel review stage in the leasing process, but did not emphasize the importance of conducting tribal consultation and public coordination at the local level early in the review process. Field Managers should begin tribal and stakeholder coordination when the proposed parcel list is released to the public for the thirty-day scoping period. Once initiated, tribal and stakeholder coordination should continue at the local level by Field Managers throughout the parcel review process.
Directives Affected: None
Coordination: This IM was coordinated with the Deputy State Director, Resources and Fire Management (CO-930); and Deputy State Director, Energy, Lands and Minerals (CO-920) and District Managers.
Contact: If there are any questions regarding this IM, please contact Barbara Sterling, Natural Resource Specialist, at (303) 239-3642; or Dan Haas, Archaeologist, at (303) 239-3647.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Kent E. Walter Brian Klein
(Acting) Deputy State Director, Colorado State Records Administrator Energy, Lands and Minerals