BLM lease sale offers Eddy County land to oil and gas industry
Adrian Hedden
A lease sale of federal land to the oil and gas industry to be held by the Bureau of Land Management in June features tracts in Eddy and Lea county, and a public scoping period will be open from Jan. 30 to Feb. 10.
Following the scoping period, a two-week public review and comment period on the environmental documents submitted from March 11 to March 22.
The proposed sale included five parcels in Lea County, and three in Eddy County.
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Records show the Eddy County parcels were located along U.S. Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 62/180, on the south side of the county.
The sale also offered two parcels in Chaves County, two in Rio Arriba County and 38 in Sandoval County.
A parcel was also offered in Decatur County, Kansas, along with two in Oklahoma: two in Dewey County and three in McClain County,
During the scoping process, the public was asked to provide input on issues relevant to the lands up for lease and identify any environmental impacts or possible alternatives to the sale.
Lease sales are regulated by the Environmental Policy Act, and public comments were asked to be also address any compliance issues with federal law.
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“The BLM will consider all substantive comments received during the comment periods to ensure the potential environmental consequences are analyzed in a manner that allows the BLM to make an informed decision about the proposed competitive lease sale,” read a Tuesday news release.
“Providing an opportunity for individuals and/or companies to lease identified Federal mineral estate through a competitive lease sale process also meets the Department of the Interior’s goal of strengthening America’s energy independence.”
Those interested in commenting can go to the BLM's website for more information on the sale, or call JulieAnn Serrano at 505-954-2149 for more information.
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.