Bureau of Land Management Revising Fracking Proposal
The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced that it will revise its draft proposal to regulate fracking on federal lands. According to BLM, approximately 90 percent of wells drilled on federal and Indian lands utilize hydraulic fracking. BLM is seeking to address concerns raised in over 170,000 comments it received in response to its May 2012 proposal. Revisions will reportedly be sent to the Office of Management and Budget next week for review. BLM spokesman Blake Androff reportedly stated that the agency is improving the draft proposal “in order to maximize flexibility, facilitate coordination with state practices and ensure that operators on public lands implement best practices.” BLM expects to release the revisions by March 31, 2013, and will seek comments on the revised proposal.