Bureau of Land Management

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DRECP under review in an effort to alleviate burdens on energy development.

By Marc T. Campopiano, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Jennifer K. Roy, and James Erselius

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently issued a notice of intent to review the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) for potential burdens on domestic energy production in California. The BLM issued the notice on February 2, 2018, in response to Executive Order (EO) 13783, “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.” EO 13783 was issued on March 28, 2017, and requires the heads of federal agencies to review all existing agency actions that “potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources.”

Finalized in 2016, the DRECP established a framework to streamline permitting for renewable energy projects on public lands in the California Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran desert region. The DRECP covers renewable energy development activities, including solar, wind, and geothermal projects, as well as transmission facilities that service renewable energy projects. As discussed in a previous post, concerns from local agencies, industry, and environmental groups caused state and federal agencies to narrow DRECP’s focus to public lands only.

The corresponding Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA), issued when the DRECP was finalized, affects land use planning decisions for all of the 10.8 million acres of federal lands within the 22 million total acres covered under the DRECP. The LUPA set aside certain BLM-managed lands for conservation and recreation, and identified priority areas for renewable energy development. As detailed in a prior post, the approved LUPA designates 388,000 acres of Development Focus Areas, which are lands identified as having high-quality solar, wind, and geothermal energy potential and access to transmission. In addition to Development Focus Areas, the approved LUPA designates: 40,000 acres of Variance Process Lands for renewable energy development; approximately 6.5 million acres for conservation; approximately 3.6 million acres for recreation; and 419,000 acres of General Public Lands, which lack a specific land allocation or designation. A land use plan amendment is needed to develop renewable energy in General Public Lands areas.

By Marc Campopiano, Josh Bledsoe, Jennifer Roy, and James Erselius

Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) has now been approved, paving the way for streamlined permitting and environmental review of qualified renewable energy projects on Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands in the Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran desert regions of Southern California.

As discussed in a previous post, the four lead agencies responsible for preparing the DRECP introduced a phased approach to implementing the DRECP in March 2015. After receiving public comments, BLM released a Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Phase I—the DRECP’s federal land component—in November 2015. On September 14, 2016, BLM signed the Record of Decision (ROD) approving the LUPA.

By Marc Campopiano and Max Friedman

Following the May 28, 2015 release by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of 14 final Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for land use plans designed to provide greater protection to the greater sage-grouse on approximately 50 million acres of BLM-managed land in 10 different western states, more than 40 environmental groups, industry organizations, states, and counties have  filed formal complaints with the BLM, protesting various aspects of the plans.  BLM aims to provide sufficient…

By Christopher Garrett & Daniel Brunton

On May 27, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) grant of a right-of-way over federal land for a road (the Road Project) for a wind energy project developed by North Sky River Energy, LLC (North Sky) on private land (the Wind Project).[1] On the facts before it, the court held that the Wind Project was neither a federal action nor…

By Marc Campopiano, Joshua Bledsoe, Jennifer Roy, James Erselius

Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (“DRECP”) is underway on the 9.8 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). As discussed in our previous post, the four lead agencies responsible for the plan introduced a phased approach to implementing the DRECP in March 2015 in response to public comments. Under Phase I of this approach, between 81,000 and…

By Marc Campopiano, Max Friedman and Gunnar Gundersen

On Thursday, May 28, 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released fourteen final Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) that incorporate greater-sage-grouse conservation measures into the land-use plans for about 50 million acres of BLM-managed land in 10 western states. The population of the sage-grouse has declined by more than half over the last decade. As discussed in our prior entry, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is under a…

By Marc Campopiano and Gunnar Gundersen

On April 21, 2015, Sally Jewell, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, announced that a sub-population of greater sage-grouse along the California-Nevada border does not require Endangered Species Act protection.

In 2010, the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the bi-state population of greater sage-grouse a “distinct population segment” under the ESA because it has significant genetic differences from other greater sage-grouse. The population had declined significantly from urbanization, encroachment of sagebrush…

By Marc Campopiano, Josh Bledsoe, Jennifer Roy, and James Erselius

Concerns from local agencies, industry, and environmental groups over the long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”)/Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (“DRECP”)—a renewable energy and conservation plan covering 22.5 million acres of desert located in seven Southern California counties—have caused the responsible state and federal agencies to shift to a more limited phased approach.  In a March 10 statement, the four lead…

By Jennifer Roy, Marc Campopiano and Joshua T. Bledsoe

On September 23, 2014, the California Energy Commission (“CEC”), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (“CDFW”), US Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), and US Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS”) for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (“DRECP”).  The DRECP would create a framework to streamline permitting for up to 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy projects on more than 22 million acres in the California Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran desert region.

By Joel Mack, Eli Hopson and Ben Lawless

On March 28, 2014 the White House announced its Methane Reduction Strategy 
(“MRS”) containing the broad outlines of a multi-agency strategy to reduce methane emissions 
from four major sources: the oil and gas industry, cattle and dairy farming, coal mining, and 
landfills. The MRS is part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, first announced by the 
White House in June 2013, and will utilize voluntary incentive-based programs as well as new 
regulatory measures under the executive branch’s existing regulatory authority. In addition, the 
MRS outlines plans to improve the quality of methane emission measurement and steps to reduce 
international methane emissions.
 The core of the MRS is the announcement of a series of voluntary and regulatory 
measures intended to reduce methane emissions from the four major sources of methane 
emissions: 
• Oil and Gas: The MRS detailed three steps to reduce methane emissions from 
the oil and gas industry: 1.) EPA will issue a series of technical white papers 
in 2014 to solicit input from technical experts to assess “several potentially 
significant sources of methane emissions” and determine whether to pursue 
further methane emission reductions from those sources; 2.) BLM will propose 
updated venting and flaring standards for oil and gas operations on public lands; 
and 3.) the Administration will work to identify additional “downstream” methane 
reduction opportunities. 
• Coal Mining: The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) will issue an 
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit input on the development of 
a program for the capture and sale, or disposal, of waste methane emitted from 
coal mines on Federal lands. 
• Landfills: EPA will propose more stringent methane emission standards for new 
landfills sometime in the summer of 2014. At the same time, EPA will solicit 
public comments on whether to update standards for existing landfills. EPA will 
also seek further emission reductions through the Landfill Methane Outreach 
Program, a voluntary program intended to partner with industry and state and 
local officials. 
• Agriculture: In consultation with the dairy industry, the Department of 
Agriculture, EPA and the Department of Energy will issue a “Biogas Roadmap” 
outlining voluntary strategies to hasten the adoption of methane digesters and 
other technologies to reduce GHG emissions from the dairy industry by 25 
percent by 2020. 
The MRS also included an outline of a plan to improve the ability to measure methane 
emissions across diverse sources and economic sectors. Specifically, the MRS calls for the 
development of new and improved measurement technologies, additional data collection and 
analysis for areas with high uncertainty, and enhancement of top-down modeling and monitoring 
based on direct measurement of atmospheric concentrations. 
Finally, the MRS sets out the Administration’s plans to reduce international methane 
emissions through two primary actions. First, the Administration will push for initiatives under 
the auspices of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (“CCAC”) to reduce landfilling in Africa, 
Asia and Latin America, reduce methane emissions from agriculture and livestock operations 
through best practices and improved policies and technologies, and help to launch the CCAC 
Oil and Gas Methane Partnership in 2014. Second, the Administration will work to leverage the 
U.S.’s technical expertise to reduce methane emissions through the Global Methane Initiative 
(“GMI”), a public-private initiative involving 43 partner countries, private industry, and 
multilateral organizations such as the World Bank. The GMI will focus on reductions in five 
key sectors: agriculture, coal mining, municipal solid waste, oil and gas systems, and municipal 
wastewater. 
Reactions to the MRS were mixed. A spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute 
questioned the need for new regulation of fuel extraction, noting that the regulations could a 
“chilling effect” and that there “built-in incentive to capture [methane] emissions” due to the 
potential resale profit. Environmental groups were generally supportive. The President of the 
Environmental Defense Fund hailed the President’s strategy as “smart roadmap for taking on the 
biggest sources of [methane] emissions.” However, the Sierra Club emphasized that the MRS 
does not reduce methane emissions enough to stave off the negative impacts of climate change.

On March 28, 2014 the White House announced its Methane Reduction Strategy (“MRS”) containing the broad outlines of a multi-agency strategy to reduce methane emissions from four major sources: the oil and gas industry, cattle and dairy farming, coal mining, and landfills. The MRS is part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, first announced by the White House in June 2013, and will utilize voluntary incentive-based programs as well as new regulatory measures under the executive branch’s existing regulatory authority. In addition, the MRS outlines plans to improve the quality of methane emission measurement and steps to reduce international methane emissions.