I read through the FOUR CORNERS Tribal Summit Summary, and would like to quote a few things that might possibly relate to ORFG - here is the link to the Summary:
http://www.nmccap.org/wp-content/uploads/2013...ceConf.pdf
FOUR CORNERS TRIBAL SUMMIT / DULCE, NM / NOVEMBER 18
-
19, 2013
Executive Summary
Twenty percent of Americas fossil fuel resources are on Indian lands. Tribes are interested parties.
“:..The most important revenue source is oil and gas…” ( page 6)
Many of the attendees stated they wanted to learn more about the energy processes, while others wanted to
know more about hydraulic fracturing and other specific energy issues that are on the horizon for the San Juan
Basin and outlying areas. ( page 7 )
(page 13)
With specific attention to the Tribe’s energy opportunities &
challenges in relation to federal agencies and the trust responsibility.
The Jicarilla Apache Nation, Navajo Nation, Southern Ute, Northern Ute, and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes
all divided into groups of their specific Tribal peers and summarized each of their own Tribe’s specific
challenges and opportunities.
Northern Ute Indian Tribe
Opportunities
Northern Utes could have more drilled wells which could equal to more revenue
The more consultation with sister agencies the more development Tribe could have
Mid Steam development
Shared royalty revenue from fee property
Challenges
Lack of Government Agency funding for B.I.A. Minerals and Mining staffing “NEPA”
Restrictions of development because of Endangered species and wildlife
Developing more wells
Consistent Federal regulations from state to state
Cooperation and Communication
Eager qualified personnel
Timeline for review from B.L.M on drainage and diligence (page 13)
-(page 18)
Federal Panel: BIA, BLM, DOI
–
This facilitated workshop is designed to
identify areas of tangible and measurable improvements to expediting the Tribal permitting
process.
Roger Fragua asked a panelist of representatives (pictured below) from the attending Federal Organizations
including BIA and BLM to volunteer to take the stage to field questions from the attendees involving issues
they have regarding these agencies and their practices in the spirit of helping streamline some of the processes
and procedures, especially the application for drilling permits (APD).
A largely recognized problem many of the Tribes
have when it comes to energy development is the
APD process (application for permit to drill). The
Northern Utes stated they have the longest current
wait times for these applications with a one to two
year process, in contrast Jicarilla Apache Nation
stated they’ve had a general turnaround of about 90
days in most cases.
The panel agreed that the process is tedious and
often times not in the hands of any one of the local
or regional offices and the bottleneck comes from
above their offices. They also stated that the most
important thing a Tribe can do is make sure that
they complete all the necessary paperwork and have everything signed off that they can before submitting
their APD’s.
A strong understanding and agreement that the APD process needs to be more standard and in most cases
quicker was had by all.
As part of the discussion, the APD process was outlined to understand the procedures more clearly in order to
discuss how it could be made more efficient.
“One of the most important aspects of the Tribal Energy Summit is to provide access
to Federal officials who can provide answers to questions many members of the Tribes
have. This opens up a channel of learning from the Tribal leadership to the Federal
Government.”
-
Roger Fragua (page 18)
(pages 21-23 describes applying for permits)
prof
