New forest rules unlikely to shorten energy permitting process

New forest rules unlikely to shorten energy permitting process

Washington (Platts)--1Aug2005

New rules governing appeals of its decisions on energy projects and other
activities on national forest lands are unlikely to hasten the permitting of
such projects, according to US Forest Service officials. The agency published
in Friday's Federal Register an amendment to its handbook designed to "improve
efficiency of processing appeals," including changes to notice-and-comment
periods on appeals. 

Oil and natural gas operators have complained that the appeals process, which
allows them and members of the public to protest Forest Service decisions on
drilling proposals, unnecessarily delays energy projects on forest land. But
Dennis Roy, an official with the agency's ecosystem management coordination
staff who helped write the amendment, said it would not reduce the processing
time "because most of those appeals have to be done within a 45-day period,
and we're usually pushing pretty hard to get them out that quickly."

Dean Crandell, a geologist with the Forest Service's minerals and geology
management unit, added, "The process still stands--if it takes time, it takes
time." The energy bill passed by Congress last week includes language
requiring the Forest Service to put into place procedures that ensure the
timely processing of drilling proposals.

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http://www.platts.com/Oil/Resources/News%20Features/energybill/index.xml.

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