Photo © Karen McLain Evening Light | Design by Anne Novak for ProtectMustangs.org

BLM Seeks Public Comment on Public Lands Nominated for Oil and Gas Exploration and Development

Ely – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ely District is asking the public to review and provide comment on parcels of public land nominated for potential oil and gas exploration and development.  The 30-day public comment period concludes Monday, July 29.

The BLM received requests to lease 216 nominated parcels of public land, totaling more than 399,000 acres.  The BLM deferred several of the nominated parcels to protect sage grouse habitat.  Other parcels were removed because of proximity to the Kirch Wildlife Management Area, the Robinson Mine Plan of Operations or the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation.  The remaining 202 parcels have been analyzed for potential impacts in the environmental assessment (EA), in accordance with the Oil & Gas Leasing Reform mandated in 2010.  Lease stipulations identified in the Ely Resource Management Plan (2008) are attached to some parcels to help protect certain resources.  The draft EA is available for public review at: https://www.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/nepa/nepa_register.do.  Select Nevada, Ely District, 2013 and DOI-BLM-NV-L000-2013-0004-EA to display the project webpage.

Interested individuals should address all written comments to the BLM Ely District Office, HC 33 Box 33500, Ely, NV 89301, Attn: Emily Simpson or fax them to Simpson at (775) 289-1910.  Comments may also be submitted to e-mail address: blm_nv_eydo_dec2013ogsale@blm.gov.  Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time.  While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

A Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sale will be conducted on December 10, 2013.  Additional information about the sale is available at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/prog/energy.html.

For more information, contact Emily Simpson, at the BLM Ely District, at (775) 289-1832 or esimpson@blm.gov.

–BLM–

—