Rule would allow development in roadless US forest land

Rule would allow development in roadless US forest land

Washington (Platts)--5May2005


The US Dept of Agriculture Thursday issued a final rule that could open
roadless areas within national forests to development, including energy
production. The Independent Petroleum Assn of America estimates the roadless
lands hold an estimated 11 Tcf of natural gas. 

The 58.5-mil acres, primarily in Alaska and the western US, were put off
limits to development under regulations issued in the final days of the
Clinton administration that banned road construction. That rule was struck
down by a federal court in 2003. The new rule allows governors to petition the
department to develop regulations to manage roadless areas that meet specific
needs within each state. If the petition is accepted, the Forest Service will
work with the state to develop a state-specific rule. A top Agriculture Dept
official was noncommittal Thursday on whether the overhaul of the roadless
areas would lead to increased energy production.

"Are there untapped or unexplored energy resources that would have been
covered by the 2001 rule that wouldn't be if a state elected to recommend that
approach to us?" Mark Rey, under secretary for natural resources and the
environment at USDA, said on a conference call. "I think the answer to that
is: We don't know yet. Until we sit down with the states and talk about what
they think the reasonable balance on those kinds of issues are, it's
impossible to speculate." 

New Mexico Gov Bill Richardson, a Democrat, blasted the new rule in a
conference call sponsored by environmentalists, saying he would lobby
governors in the surrounding western states that contain most of the nation's
roadless acreage to retain the existing rule. One source with an environmental
group added that "it's almost certain" conservationists would sue to block
implementation of the rule. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici
(Republican-New Mexico) said the rule provides a way to deal with the roadless
issue that empowers states.

This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert
http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com

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