H.R. 3225 Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2019 Toolkit

Overview | Talking Points | Social Guidance

Overview

On June 12th, U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA-49) introduced H.R. 3225 Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act. This bill would help to fix a broken oil and gas leasing system to better provide transparency, protect American taxpayers, and safeguard our public lands, waters, and wildlife for future generations.

Oil and gas development on public lands is currently managed in favor of the oil and gas industry while other uses of public lands such as conservation, recreation and even renewable energy development are being shortchanged. From stockpiled leases to drilling permits that sit in limbo for decades, the oil and gas industry’s ability to push aside other uses of lands that are supposed to be managed for multiple uses on behalf of the American public are well known, and this bill is a first step at addressing them. H.R. 3225 would help put the American public first by ensuring a fair market value for use of public lands, improving transparency, protecting natural and cultural resources, protecting land owners, and slowing down the rush to lease in the name of “energy dominance.”

Please use the guidance below to show your support for the Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2019 and fixing our federal government’s broken oil and gas leasing system.

Talking Points

Overall

• The Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act would help to fix a broken oil and gas leasing system to provide transparency, protect American taxpayers, and preserve our public lands, waters, and wildlife for future generations.

• From stockpiled leases to drilling permits that sit in limbo for decades, the existing system for managing oil and gas development on public lands favors the oil and gas industry over all other uses. The federal government must start putting the public’s interests ahead of the oil and gas industry.

Ensuring “fair market value”

• Americans are supposed to receive “fair market value” whenever oil and gas is produced from public lands. This means that the federal government must routinely evaluate and strengthen its fiscal policies – including updating royalty rates, rental rates, and minimum bids – to ensure that taxpayers, and not private interests, are the primary beneficiaries of public lands development. This bill would ensure that these necessary and long overdue steps are taken.

Increasing public participation

• The Trump administration has stifled and suppressed public input on oil and gas leasing decisions, shortening comment periods and forgoing adequate public notice before leasing occurs.

• This bill will change that by guaranteeing the public its rightful voice in how their public lands should be managed by restoring public participation requirements that were stripped away in recent years under President Trump.

Improving transparency

• The current anonymous bidding system makes it easier for oil and gas companies to shield their identities when nominating public lands for leasing. As a result, the public is left in the dark about just who is trying to lease public lands for drilling and whether or not they have a history of polluting our air and water and damaging public lands and wildlife.

• This bill will require companies to disclose their identity when nominating or bidding on parcels to lease.

Protecting natural and cultural resources from the “energy dominance” rush

• The Trump administration has offered up millions of acres of our public lands to the oil and gas industry at unprecedented rates, many of these areas are some of the wildest places in our nation, support economically important recreation resources, and are critical for wildlife species, like elk, mule deer, and sage-grouse.

• It is critical thatBLM and the U.S. Forest Service manage our public lands for all uses, including outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing, and wildlife conservation, and not just for the private benefit of oil and gas companies

Protecting landowners

• We need federal safeguards to protect landowners when the federal minerals beneath their property are leased so that oil and gas companies will minimize their impact, clean up after themselves, and pay for any damages they leave behind.

Social Guidance

Handles

@Interior

@BLMNational

` @forestservice

@RepMikeLevin

Hashtags

#PublicLands

#oilandgas

TODAY: @RepMikeLevin introduced a bill to fix our broken #oilandgas leasing system to create transparency, protect American taxpayers, & safeguard our #PublicLands, waters, and wildlife for future generations.

#oilandgas development on #PublicLands is currently managed in favor of industry and special interests. RT to support the Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act and putting the public's interests first!

@RepMikeLevin’s bill is a critical step to ensure other uses such as conservation, recreation, and renewable energy development are not being shortchanged in @BLMNational’s #oilandgas leasing system.

From stockpiled leases to drilling permits that sit in limbo for decades, the existing system for #managing #oilandgas development on #PublicLands is riddled with problems.

@RepMikeLevin’s bill is a critical step forward to ensure other uses such as conservation, recreation, & renewable energy development are not being shortchanged.

Americans have a right to receive “fair market value” whenever #oilandgas is developed on #PublicLands. RT to support the Restoring Community Input and Public Protections in Oil and Gas Leasing Act today!

.@Interior has not updated its #oilandgas fiscal policies in decades! It’s time to modernize our policies and put American taxpayers first. RT to show your support for the Restoring Community Input and Public Protection in Oil and Gas Leasing Act.

The Trump admin. & @Interior have continuously suppressed the public’s opportunity to weigh in on #oilandgas leasing decisions. We all deserve a say in how their #PublicLands are managed!

.@BLMNational & @forestservice must manage our #PublicLands for multiple-uses including conservation and recreation, and put an end to policies like anonymous bidding and non-competitive leasing!

We need federal safeguards to protect landowners, taxpayers, and #PublicLands when federal minerals are leased to private interests in the #oilandgas industry. @RepMikeLevin’s bill takes a step forward in securing those critical protections for communities!