Protect Our Public Lands: Tell the BLM Not to Slash Oil and Gas Regulations!

Taxpayers could soon be left on the hook to clean up after abandoned oil and gas projects – we need to speak up today!

The Bureau of Land Management has proposed rolling back the 2024 Oil and Gas Rule, eliminating a number of protections against pollution and opportunities for public input.

The proposed rollbacks eliminate criteria that steer oil and gas development away from important wildlife habitat, cultural resources, and outdoor recreation areas. Getting rid of these commonsense safeguards increases the risk that drilling will be pushed into places that matter most.

At the same time, the proposed rule will return bond levels set in the 1950s and ‘60s,increasing the risk that oil and gas companies will walk away from their cleanup obligations, leaving wells unplugs, lease areas unreclaimed and wildlife habitat destroyed. The result could be billions in cleanup costs shifted to taxpayers and lasting damage to public lands.

We shouldn’t be forced to clean up after fossil fuel companies and face the consequences of their reckless development. Current regulations ensure that these companies have to pay their fair share and take responsibility for their projects, and things should stay that way!

Tell BLM: Don’t throw out rules that protect our communities from fossil fuel spills and pollution!

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Defenders of Wildlife

Greetings,

I am writing to oppose the proposal to roll back the 2024 Oil and Gas Rule. The proposed rule would make it easier for oil and gas companies to abandon wells and infrastructure without plugging wells and restoring wildlife habitat, leaving taxpayers responsible for cleanup and landscapes scarred for decades.

The proposed rule would revoke a much-needed 2024 update to the amount of money that an oil and gas company needs to post as a bond in order to ensure that they clean up their operations and reclaim the land when they are finished drilling. This proposal would return the bond rates to levels that are so far below actual clean-up costs, they actually create an incentive for companies to forfeit their bond and stick taxpayers with the bill.

Abandoned wells and associated infrastructure pose persistent risks to wildlife:

Abandoned wells, unreclaimed roads, and open wastewater pits fragment habitat and disrupt migration routes for wildlife such as deer, pronghorn, and birds, reducing breeding success and weakening populations over time. Without adequate reclamation, these impacts can persist for decades.

Orphaned wells and associated infrastructure can directly harm wildlife by trapping animals in open pits and contaminating air, soil and water with leaking oil, chemicals, brine, and toxic gases, harming birds, mammals, fish, and amphibians.

This proposal would also stick taxpayers with the bill for industry's cleanup: By rolling back bonding requirements to levels first set in the 1950s and 60s, the administration is putting taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up and capping abandoned wells when drillers leave town – a massive giveaway to the oil and gas industry at taxpayers’ expense. It would also silence the public’s voice by eliminating long-standing opportunities for local input and slashes the sole remaining public engagement period to a mere 10 days.

It would also eliminate commonsense leasing standards that help prevent drilling in sensitive wildlife habitat, cultural sites, and treasured recreation areas.

Across the West, abandoned oil and gas wells already threaten public lands, wildlife, water resources, and nearby communities. Thousands more wells could be abandoned if this proposal is finalized.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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