Interior formalizes local involvement

On June 10 the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a notice of final change to the agency’s operating procedures. The change would give local, state and tribal governments a greater say in the early stages of environmental studies.

In early March 2005 the Bureau of Land Management completed its final rule on land management decisions and established uniform eligibility criteria for federal and state agencies, and with tribal and local governments to apply for and become cooperating agencies. The new procedures will clarify the responsibility of Interior managers to offer cooperating agency status to qualifying entities and to proactively work with these cooperating agencies during the preparation of environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The procedures will support an executive order by President Bush to ensure appropriate local participation in federal decision making over issues relating to the environment and natural resources.

“We look forward to having our managers working with local, state and tribal governments as cooperating agents,” said Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. “This will help us to provide broader public participation in resource-management decisions and will ultimately generate more effective on-the-ground solutions.”

BLM spokeswoman Jody Weil told Petroleum News that in Alaska BLM already works with state, local and tribal government entities.

This will “make official something we’ve been doing for years,” Weil said.

—Alan Bailey