[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 86 (Tuesday, June 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S6028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BAUCUS:
  S. 2680. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate 
opportunities to enhance domestic oil and gas production through the 
exchange of nonproducing Federal oil and gas leases located in the 
Lewis and Clark National Forest, in the Flathead National Forest and on 
Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Montana, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I am introducing a bill today that is 
extremely important to the people of my State of Montana. Why is it so 
important? Because I hope it will take us one step closer to achieving 
permanent protections for Montana's magnificent Rocky Mountain Front.
  The Front, as we call it back home, is part of one of the largest and 
most intact wild places left in the lower 48. To the North, the Front 
includes a 200 square mile area known as the Badger-Two Medicine in the 
Lewis and Clark National Forest. This area sits just south-east of 
Glacier National Park, one of our greatest national treasures. The 
Badger-Two Medicine area is sacred ground to the Blackfeet Tribe. In 
January of 2002, portions of the Badger-Two, known as the Badger-Two 
Medicine Blackfoot Traditional Cultural District, were declared 
eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
  South of the Badger-Two, the Front includes a 400 square mile strip 
of national forest land and about 20 square miles of BLM lands, 
including three BLM Outstanding Natural Areas.
  Not only the Front still retain almost all its native species, only 
bison are missing, but it also harbors the country's largest bighorn 
sheep herd and second largest elk herd. The Rocky Mountain Front 
supports one of the largest populations of grizzly bears south of 
Canada and is the only place in the lower 48 States where grizzly bears 
still roam from the mountains to their historic range on the plains.
  Because of this exceptional habitat, the Front offers world renowned 
hunting, fishing and recreational opportunities. Sportsmen, local land 
owners, hikers, local communities and many other Montanans have worked 
for decades to protect and preserve the Front for future generations.
  In short, a majority of Montanans feel very strongly that oil and gas 
development, and Montana's Rocky Mountain Front, just don't mix. The 
habitat is too rich, the landscape too important, to subject it to the 
roads, drills, pipelines, industrial equipment, chemicals, noise, and 
human activity that come with oil and gas development.
  Building upon a significant public and private conservation 
investment and following an extensive public comment process, the Lewis 
and Clark National Forest decided in 1997 to withdraw for 15 years 
356,000 acres in the Front from any new oil and gas leasing. This was a 
significant first step in protecting the Front from developing that I 
wholeheartedly supported.
  However, in many parts of the Rocky Mountain Front, oil and gas 
leases exist that pre-date the 1997 decision. These leaseholders have 
invested time and resources in acquiring their leases. Several 
leaseholders have applied to the federal government for permits to 
drill. These leases are the subject of my proposed bill.
  History has shown that energy exploration and development in the 
Front is likely to result in expensive and time consuming environmental 
studies and litigation. This process rarely ends with a solution that 
is satisfactory to the oil and gas lessee. For example, in the late 
1980's both Chevron and Fina applied for permits to drill in the Badger 
Two Medicine portion of the Front. After millions of dollars spent on 
studies and years of public debate, Chevron abandoned or assigned all 
of its lease rights, and Fina sold its lease rights back to the 
original owner.
  Therefore, I think we should be fair to those leaseholders. We want 
them to continue to provide for our domestic oil and gas needs, but 
they are going to have a long, difficult and expensive road if they 
wish to develop oil and gas in the Rocky Mountain Front.
  My legislation would direct the Interior Department to evaluate non-
producing leases in the Rocky Mountain Front and look at opportunities 
to cancel these leases, in exchange for allowing leaseholders to 
explore for oil and gas somewhere else, namely in the Gulf of Mexico or 
in the State of Montana. In conducting this evaluation, the Secretary 
would have to consult with leaseholders, with the State of Montana and 
the public and other interested parties.
  When Interior concludes this study in two years, the bill calls for 
the agency to make recommendations to Congress and the Energy and 
Natural Resources Committee on the advisability of pursuing lease 
exchanges in the Front and any changes in law and regulation needed to 
enable the Secretary to undertake such an exchange.
  Finally, in order to allow the Secretary to conduct this study, my 
bill would continue the current lease suspension in the Badger-Two 
Medicine Area for three more years. This lease suspension would only 
apply to the Badger-Two Medicine Area, not the entire Front.
  That's it, that's all my bill does. It doesn't predetermine any 
outcome, it doesn't impact any existing exploration activities or 
environmental review processes. It just creates a process through which 
the federal government, the people of Montana and leaseholders can 
finally have a real, open and honest discussion about the fate of the 
Rocky Mountain Front.
  We should look for ways to fairly compensate leaseholders for 
investments they've made in their leases if they decide to leave the 
Front rather than waste years and millions fighting to explore for 
uncertain oil and gas reserves. Because, a lot of Montanans don't want 
to see the Front developed, and they will fight to protect it. 
Including me.
  So, developers can wait years, or decades, or most likely never, for 
oil and gas to flow from the Front. Or we can look at ways to encourage 
domestic production much sooner, in much more cost effective, 
appropriate and efficient ways somewhere else.
  That is what I hope this legislation will accomplish, and I hope my 
colleagues in the Senate will support it.
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