[NV Greens] Gibbons-Land-Energy-$$$

Tue Nov 8 22:10:40 PST 2005

FYI /cl
Forward from Western Shoshone Defense Project, www.wsdp.org
also
FYI.  New Analysis on Costs of House Budget.    Also, direct link to
state by state analysis of lands that could be affected:
http://www.ewg.org/reports/dirtcheap/
******
From: Alan Septoff [mailto:aseptoff at earthworksaction.org] 

EARTHWORKS * OIL & GAS ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT joint press release

For Immediate Release:  11/8/2005
Contact:  Alan Septoff, EARTHWORKS, 202-887-1872x205

*** NEW STUDY SHOWS BUDGET BILL COULD HELP ENERGY CORPORATIONS AVOID
PAYING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN REVENUES TO U.S. TREASURY AND WESTERN
STATES 

*** Proposal Would Allow Energy Corporations To Buy Public Lands Instead
Of Leasing Them, Avoiding Royalty Payments Worth More Than $2 Billion
Last Year Alone

Washington, DC-The federal government and western states stand to lose
billions of dollars in royalties from energy development on federally
owned lands in the West, according to a new analysis of mining
provisions in the House Budget Reconciliation bill prepared by
EARTHWORKS.  According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, energy
corporations paid more than $2 billion in royalties for onshore oil,
gas, and coal development in 2004 alone.

In a reversal of more than 130 years of federal land management policy,
the mining provisions, inserted by House Resources Committee Chairman
Richard Pombo (R-California) and Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada),
would allow any corporation or other private interest to buy public
lands for $1,000 an acre or the fair market value of the surface land,
whichever is greater. Private interests could buy the land without even
having to show that it contains minerals.

"While the nation is struggling to pay for Katrina relief, the war in
Iraq, and basic services at the state level, Congressman Pombo wants to
give energy corporations a multi-billion-dollar free ride, " said Gwen
Lachelt, director of the Colorado-based Oil and Gas Accountability
Project. "Energy corporations made more than $100 billion in profit in
the last three months alone. They don't need another handout from
Congress, especially one that is cynically hidden in a massive budget
bill."

Included among the more than 270 million acres of public land that would
be open for sale under the House budget bill are lands leased for energy
development. Last year, some 38 million acres were under lease to energy
developers in the Western states affected by the mining amendments.
Under current federal law, leaseholders pay federal royalties of between
8 percent and 12.5 percent of the value of the fuels they extract from
public lands. Under the Pombo provisions, however, the corporations that
currently lease these lands could buy them outright, potentially
withdrawing a significant source of federal revenue. Royalties are not
imposed on privately owned lands. 

The federal Mineral Leasing Act requires that 50 percent of federal
royalties that accrue from public lands leased for energy development be
returned the originating western states. Last year, these royalties
amounted to approximately $1 billion to the states.

Because royalties are paid annually, they provide a major, ongoing
source of revenue for western states and the federal Treasury unlike
land sales, which would be a one-time payment. (See the table below for
the state-by-state breakdown.) 

At a time when state governments are strapped financially and the
federal government is facing a record budget deficit, the loss of
royalty transfers could create more hardship.

State -- Revenues from oil/gas/coal bearing federal lands -- Revenues
disbursed to the states AK -- $20,619,462 -- $10,309,731 AZ -- $609 --
$304 CA -- $44,436,868 -- $22,218,434 CO -- $143,738,315 -- $71,869,157
ID -- $3,648,939 -- $1,824,470 MT -- $54,144,720 -- $27,072,360 NV --
$2,185,244 -- $1,092,622 NM -- $681,600,077 -- $340,800,039 OR --
62,768.00 -- 11,469.56 SD -- $763,930 -- $381,965 UT -- $119,496,020 --
$59,748,010 WA -- $24,060 -- $12,030 WY -- $976,561,983 -- $488,280,991
TOTAL -- $2,047,220,227 -- $1,023,610,113
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